Michael Bloomberg, billionaire mayor of New York City, recently expressed much pessimism regarding the immediate future of NY’s marriage equality battle in an interview with “Gay City News.”

Bloomberg offered “zero, zero” hope that the state senate would even consider entertaining such an issue this fall. Surprisingly, the mayor believes that the problem at hand is not lack of support for LGBT constituents. Instead, Bloomberg feels that senate leaders are daunted by the controversy such a bill would incur.

“Whether anybody who runs for governor next year will stand up for gay marriage, I’ll bet you 25 cents no,” stated Bloomberg, steadfast in his belief that politicians will shy away from this hot-button issue for at least a few years to come.

Despite the financial software tycoon’s admittedly immense influence over his colleagues, Bloomberg still fears that the senators’ Gilded Age-esque politics will continue to skirt the gay marriage debate in its prime with their avoidance and inactivity.

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– Zachary Culler