Critics: De Blasio Focuses Too Much On Trump, Not Enough On City
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There was a new message for Mayor Bill de Blasio Tuesday night.
As CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported, some constituents said de Blasio needs to reorient his priorities, forget attacking Donald Trump, and fix the city.
The succinct message from many New Yorkers was that de Blasio needs to focus on his day job.
"I think he should get down to business, stop politicking on all levels, and realize there are a lot of people out there who are alienated from his kind of conversation," said Barbara from Bay Ridge.
"I'd like him to be taking care of the city," said Janet from Bay Ridge.
"He should be paying more attention to his office and do his proper stuff," said Eric Holman of Bay Ridge. "I want to see him do some changes in the subway system. I want to see him do some changes in housing. People that are homeless -- I want him to take care of the homeless."
The homeless are a particular concern in Bay Ridge, because some have recently taken to sleeping in the vestibules of several banks in the area.
But since the election, the mayor has spent much of his time challenging Republican President-elect Trump. It started just hours after Democrat Hillary Clinton conceded, continued outside Trump Tower just after the mayor met with Trump last week, and included a speech on Monday at Cooper Union.
"It's important to say out loud, there's a lot of fear out there," de Blasio said in the Monday speech.
But Bay Ridge residents said the mayor has lost touch with the concerns of his own constituents.
"I want him to concentrate on his job, and not be seeking the support of the support of national and other sorts of groups," Barbara said.
"The mayor should think about us; the kids; the generation now; the schools in New York City is very down," said Saniha Kercluc of Bay Ridge.
Kramer asked de Blasio about the concerns about his priorities Tuesday.
Kramer: "Mr. Mayor, you've spent much of the last two weeks standing up to Donald Trump. I wonder what you would say to your constituents who say that's all well and good, but you should focus on dealing with the city's problems."
De Blasio: "There's no contradiction, Marcia. We're going to work on all the issues of the city, but guess what. There was a national election two weeks ago and it has huge ramifications for New York City and for millions of New Yorkers. So, we have to able to walk and chew gum at the same time. It's my job to stand up for New Yorkers."
Some worry about whether the president-elect will get tired of de Blasio's complaints and seek retribution. The mayor said he does not think so, but others say they are not so sure.
