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The line below is taken from an article published in The New York Times.

In 2012, Fran Lebowitz, the humorist and noted nemesis of Michael Bloomberg, who was then New York City’s mayor, sneered that the billionaire businessman and philanthropist could not stand the thought of someone having a bigger job than his.

I can't understand weather the phrase who was then New York City’s mayor refers to Fran Lebowitz or Michael Bloomberg. Please help me figure this out.

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  • How will it be if written as "In 2012, Fran Lebowitz, the humorist and noted nemesis of Michael Bloomberg, then New York City’s mayor, sneered....
    – Ram Pillai
    Mar 6, 2020 at 6:34
  • @RamPillai Better, but still confusing. I'm still not clear from what it says which one was mayor.
    – WS2
    Dec 1, 2020 at 9:09

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The parenthetical phrase, inside the commas, is supposed to point to the item immediately preceding it. This can go badly wrong if not done properly or too many players are involved. In this case the mayor was indeed Bloomberg and Fran really was his nemesis.

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