The Mayor is evading the confirmation law. The point of confirmation is to subject appointees to public oversight. Oversight weeds out controversial and incompetent nominees. Oversight enables the Council to scrutinize and affect practices within an agency, board, or commission. The Mayor is eluding oversight and the Council is acquiescing.
Confirmation is an integral part of the checks and balances between the branches of government.
The Council, however, doesn't grasp the concept. Just this month the Senate strong-armed President Clinton over federal contracting by withholding confirmation of Alexis Herman as Labor secretary. Our City Council would never do something like that. It's not clear what the Council will do. Maybe they'll write another law to state what the current law already states.