New York – NY Post Calls On NY Gov. To Oust NYC Mayor, Over Blackout Handling

New York – In a scathing op-ed published Sunday night, The New York Post slammed New York City Mayor de Blasio, calling for his removal from office because of his handling of the Saturday night blackout that hit Midtown, leaving tens of thousands in the dark in the midst of the summer’s heat and humidity.

The Post op-ed (nyp.st/2Gd5SlE) described de Blasio’s performance as lackluster, blasting him for his perpetual lateness and for spending hundreds of millions of dollars on pet projects that produce little results, including his wife Chirlane McCray’s Thrive NYC mental health initiative which received $850 million in city funding. The Post also alleged that the city’s current safe environment is due to programs introduced by de Blasio’s predecessors and charged him with defending failed city agencies whose lack of decisive action has left children both sick and dead.

The Post called on Cuomo to oust de Blasio from City Hall. Under Section 9 of the New York City charter, the governor has the authority to remove the mayor from office, a process that would begin with a 30 day suspension as charges would be prepared and served to the mayor, who would have the ability to defend his position. The Post went on to further suggest that de Blasio could spare himself the embarrassment of being removed from office by resigning, adding, “Either way, Bill de Blasio must go. Now.”

As previously reported on VIN News (bit.ly/2GcF7xy), a transformer fire at West 64th Street and West End Avenue knocked out power to tens of thousands of Con Ed customers in a 30 block stretch from Times Square to the Upper West Side. But it was Governor Andrew Cuomo who hit city streets during the blackout, with de Blasio on a campaign stop in Waterloo, Iowa.

CNN (cnn.it/2YV1Qp2) reported that de Blasio returned to the city late Saturday night, defending his decision to stay in Iowa with no apologies, while 72,000 city residents remained without power.

“When you’re a mayor or governor, you’re going to travel for a variety of reasons,” said de Blasio. “The important thing is to have the hand on the wheel and make sure things are moving effectively and communicate to people even from where I was. I was able to do that right away with the people in New York City.”

That argument fell flat with Cuomo, who has long been at odds with de Blasio, reported Fox News (fxn.ws/2GbnIVO).

“I can count the number of times I leave the state basically on my fingers,” observed Cuomo, noting that he believes that mayors should always be on-site.