Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York is so tall that city workers had to build an oversize podium for him, installing a custom sliding step that can be pulled out for shorter speakers.

His albatross-scale arm span is so wide that aides have trained him to avoid expansive hand gestures, to keep from accidentally smacking people nearby.

His legs are so long that the mayor insists on traveling in the front passenger seat of his city-issued S.U.V., avoiding a cramped back seat but possibly exposing himself to greater security risks.

In a city defined by its verticality, Mr. de Blasio’s Bunyanesque build has proved to be a political bonanza, allowing him to tower over smaller rivals and command a crowded room just by entering it.