The battle lines have been drawn. The quarter of New York City’s eligible voters who bothered to partake in this election have high hopes for Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, who is largely celebrated as a model for reinvigorated economic liberalism. And on the hard left, the rabble-rousers scoff at anyone naïve enough to even notice that an election was taking place.

To be fair, skepticism is warranted. Despite lofty talk about fighting inequality, de Blasio had the backing of many real estate developers, and has recently attempted to court Goldman Sachs and other top Wall Street firms. The mayor-elect has gone so far as to assure the pro-business Association for a Better New York that he would rule as a “fiscal conservative.”

Whether we like it or not, though, de Blasio is coming to City Hall, and there’s an opportunity for change if what remains of the New York left play its cards right. Contrary to the hollers of the Wall Street Journal editorial board, de Blasio isn’t a representative of any kind of social movement. There’s virtually no overlap between his campaign team and anyone who slept in Zuccotti Park. With the notable exception of the politically savvy 1199/SEIU, the majority of the city’s labor movement during the Democratic primary either stuck to principles and supported the more progressive John Liu or struck cynical deals with the assumed front-runners Bill Thompson or Christine Quinn.