First Lady McCray Defends Her Leadership Of Mayor's Fund To Advance NYC
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York City's First Lady Chirlane McCray answered off-topic questions from the media Wednesday.
She defended how she runs a nonprofit that has seen contributions drop under her leadership.
The Blue Room at City Hall was jam-packed when McCray announced a new initiative to address homelessness among young LGBTQ New Yorkers, but she faced the music alone when it came time to answer questions about her leadership of the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported.
"The role I play is appropriate," McCray said.
The first lady was asked to explain published reports that said she often misses board meetings and that her 2017 public schedules recorded less than 20 total hours spent on the Mayor's Fund business, which raises money for the mayor's pet causes.
"It is not necessary to go into a room in a building to get the work done," McCray said. "This is the electronic age. I do business everywhere I am."
MORE: First Lady McCray Drops Ball, Decides Not To Answer Questions At Own Press Conference
McCray, who prepared for her question-and-answer session with aides, was also asked why the fund has raised less under her stewardship than when Michael Bloomberg was mayor, a man admittedly known to augment programs with his own contributions.
"It's not a race," McCray said. "The point is to raise as much money as we need."
The first lady was also asked about the release of her husband's secret email cache and his subsequent press conference, which revealed a dim view of the media. CBS2's Kramer asked about de Blasio's lack of transparency.
Kramer: "I wonder if you feel, you, yourself, feel that he wasn't getting a fair shake and that the decision to withdraw, to have one press conference a week, is something that you agree with?"
"I don't know if what I feel is really relevant to this," McCray said.
When asked what advice she gives the mayor, McCray said, "I don't think I have to tell you what we talk about."
The first lady took off-topic questions for 21 minutes, also confiding that the mayor expressed over the holiday weekend that he has '"zero regrets" about the negative things he has said about the New York press corps.
