When we see Ray Kelly in public he’s usually filling us in on the details of some horrific crime. Today he took up an equally important, yet more lighthearted task: participating in a ribbon-cutting at a new Applebee’s location in Harlem, which has been certified as “very green.” Shortly after declaring the restaurant open for business along with Dr. Oz (unfortunately Tiki Barber was running late), a man told Kelly he hopes he runs for mayor. The police commissioner has suggested that he won’t run, but sounded a lot like a politician during the ceremony, declaring, “I am a big fan of Applebee’s — as I am of every restaurant in New York.” Kelly also noted that he and franchise owner Zane Tankel “go way back.” (Tankel gained some notoriety recently for threatening to make Obamacare-related cutbacks). The pair dined together on Wednesday, but unfortunately they couldn’t eat at the new location, since it wasn’t open yet. Instead they went to one of Kelly’s other favorite lunch spots: the Waldorf-Astoria.
