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De Blasio In Washington For New Mayors Meeting At White House

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio and other newly elected leaders from cities across the country will be at the White House Friday to meet with President Barack Obama.

As WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported, de Blasio is going into the meeting with some big ideas.

"I'm going to begin a mission that I look forward to working with my fellow mayors on and certainly working with the president on to slowly but surely turn the congressional focus, in particular, back to investments in education, investments in infrastructure, investments in mass transit, investments in housing, the kinds of things that would change New York City so fundamentally," said de Blasio.

De Blasio In Washington For New Mayors Meeting At White House

De Blasio takes over at City Hall on Jan. 1. He ran on a progressive platform with a focus on shrinking income inequality.

"If we had that support again, if the cavalry would show up once in a while, we could do so much for our people and so much to address inequality. And over time, that's what we'll seek to achieve," de Blasio said.

De Blasio said he's optimistic the city will have a "tremendous" ally in President Obama.

On Wednesday, de Blasio announced he and his family will be moving into Gracie Mansion, citing "logistical and security concerns" among the "variety of reasons" for making the move from their current home in Park Slope.

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