De Blasio Defends Gym Routine Against Critics
Updated Wednesday, Aug. 19 9:26 a.m.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio is defending his gym routine.
De Blasio lives in Gracie Mansion on Manhattan's Upper East Side, but he still commutes many days to the gym near his former house in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
That's a 12-mile drive that can take well more than 30 minutes in traffic. Afterward, he then has another 4-mile drive to City Hall.
De Blasio Defends Gym Routine Against Critics
"This job is a seven day a week job. There is no such thing in this job as being off-duty," he told reporters, including WCBS 880's Rich Lamb. "I hope people know that. As someone who watched my last four predecessors very carefully, I think it's quite clear to most New Yorkers that a mayor's on duty all the time."
The mayor drew criticism Friday when he remained at the gym during an armed standoff on Staten Island in which a firefighter was shot. A de Blasio spokeswoman said the police and fire commissioners spoke to the mayor several times during the incident.
De Blasio said Tuesday that he is "on duty all of the time" and is constantly in touch with aides no matter where he is. Last week, he dismissed a question by a reporter about the Staten Island standoff, saying, "We're briefing you all on a very serious situation, and that's just not a serious question."
De Blasio also suggested that many CEOs stress the need to create time to work out.
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