MIDTOWN — The Amazing Kreskin has been predicting the future for decades. He forecast President Barack Obama’s victory in 2008 and the Giants’ surprise Superbowl win earlier that year.
So what does the legendary mentalist see in New York City’s future in 2012? More bike lanes, fewer pedestrian plazas — and red underwear.
Here are some of his top predictions for the new year:
1. The Occupy Wall Street protests aren't over yet:
Kreskin not only believes the protests will continue, but thinks they'll grow more violent as time goes on. He predicts a shift in tactics, with a focus on smaller cities.
2. Watch out for crime:
While Kreskin said he expects the city’s crime rate to hold steady in 2012, he's very concerned about guns.
“One of the greatest fears is the proliferation of people having guns that are not licensed,” he said.
He also said crime and security will become two of the most pressing concerns nation-wide in 2012, predicting a spate of home invasions by teams of robbers taking advantage of slow police response times.
”They may be criminal and ruthless, but they’re also intelligent enough to know that it takes eight to ten to 12 minutes for the police to get there. In that much time, with a team, they will ravage the house,” he said.
3. Another attempted terrorist attack is likely:
“Yes, there will be another terrorist attack," Kreskin predicted, saying he's most worried about biological weapons, but doesn't know when or where it will happen.
4. Pedestrian plaza haters might be in luck:
After watching the city replace the cars in Times Square with picnic umbrellas, Kreskin said he expects this year to mark “a shift” away from pedestrian plazas.
“I think the solution they’ve come to right now is not going to work in the long run,” said Kreskin, who argued that blocked roadways are a big problem for some businesses that rely on cars as well as pedestrians.
“In the end, this city is a human dynamo. You can’t force it to be stifled quite in that way,” he said.
5. But bike lanes are here to stay:
While he may not like Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan's plazas, Kreskin is an enthusiastic supporter of bike lanes, arguing that if they can make it in a place as chaotic as Paris, they can make it here.
6. Don't expect to see Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the White House any time soon.
While Kreskin believes the mayor could “handle himself immensely" in the position, “I don’t think he will ever be president,” he said.
He also ruled out another term as mayor.
"That might get too controversial,” he said, joking that it would take some "hypnotic techniques" for him to succeed.
Kreskin declined to weigh in on who will succeed Bloomberg in 2013, but said he’d like to see fewer life-long politicians and more candidates running for office after successful private-sector careers.
“Hold office for one or two terms, don’t get paid. When you finish, go back to your private life,” he said.
7. Same goes for Donald Trump:
Despite all of his flirtation, Kreskin said he also doesn’t expect the failed Republican king-maker to stage a run.
“I don’t think he’s going to hold office,” Kreskin said, adding that Trump will, however, milk the spotlight for all it's worth.
“I think he’s having fun with it, he’s making a statement," Kreskin said. "He’s unnerving the political people which is a good thing."
8. Everyone's going to be wearing red undies:
“Watch,” Kreskin said. “You’re going to have a fad this year of men buying red underwear."
Kreskin refused to reveal why the colorful undies will be all the rage, but promised, “At the end of the year, you’ll say, Oh my God.”
9. Musical umbrellas will replace the iPad as the cool new product:
“Somebody, ingeniously, is going to come out with a product of an umbrella," said Kreskin. “But this umbrella will play music according to the weather.”
10. More young people will put off college:
Kreskin predicts that more and more young people will choose to put off college for a year or two to get some real-world experience.
“You need to have a job to find out what the real world is about,” he said, suggesting that young people look to manual labor or volunteer work overseas.
And on the presidential election:
Kreskin already secretly predicted the winner of this year's presidential race on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on July 25, but won’t reveal the winner until two days after the country casts its votes.
“What’s dramatic is not so much that I predicted the results of the election. I believe the party I picked is the one that’s going to win, but I named on July 25th who would be the Republican candidate. And at that time, if people will look back... there were literally 12, 14 candidates," he said.
'So it’s going to be quite dramatic.”