[Mr Downtown]

Yeah, I'm a little concerned that Cox is the outsider who was going to sweep into town and turn things around in terms of equity and investment. It's unexpectedly turned out to be a tough time to try to do that.

Not sure how strong the Landmarks Division will continue to be. Deputy Commissioner Eleanor Gorski's last day was Monday (she's going to UIC). I don't know what role Cox sees for preservation. Is it just an "old white person" thang that's not important in trying to set up a New World Order? I was annoyed that Cox's new DPD hires were done primarily on the basis of skin color—even to the point of readvertising the positions when the first group of applicants weren't the right color. And then yesterday he just threw the longtime Landmarks staff under the bus, suggesting that he was just putting on the table a district he didn't believe in for council to do whatever they like with.

As far as permits, Landmarks does take pride in doing most applications in landmark districts as Easy Permits. But the horror stories of having to hire expediters had already circulated in the community.