New York 41

When we gathered city bigwigs for our TONY New York 40—like Jay-Z, Tim Gunn and Amy Poehler—it seems we forgot one. At least that’s what reader and school teacher Jose Vilson thought, so he interviewed himself with our standard questions on his blog (thejosevilson.com/blog). “I wanted to wear my Patrick Ewing Anniversary Edition Team USA jersey for the photo shoot,” he wrote. Did we make a mistake?

Why do you think you should have been in our New York 40?
I’ve been here all my life, and I represent the best of what New York City has to offer, as far as my generation’s concerned. I’m an up-and-coming New York/education blogger, writer and poet. There’s a lack of educators on the list…so I must represent!

So who do we have kick out to make room?
I’d say Mayor Bloomberg, only because he’s already the mayor. And since we’re having fun, Pat Kiernan. He’s already got a TV show where he has instant access to millions of people to show off his coolness. Let the rest of us in.

Here’s one of our questions you didn’t answer on your blog: What’s the future of New York?
Hmm; we’re going to see another period of insanity. New York is on a constant tightrope, riding the delicate balance between madness and governance.