After spending most of last week on the road, it was back to work at City Hall today for Mayor Bill de Blasio, who signed several bills into law and responded again to critics who say his effort to build a national profile have come at the expense of the city he was elected to serve. NY1’s Bobby Cuza filed this report.
Last month, it was Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin. Last week, he was in Washington, D.C., then off to northern California for two days.
Monday, the jet-setting mayor was back to the grind. Mayor Bill de Blasio signed four bills, dealing with topics ranging from used car sales to new hotel construction to preventing the spread of Hepatitis B and C.
As for his travels, de Blasio told reporters in an impromptu question-and-answer session, the city’s mayor is supposed to be a leader in urban America, and that not going to Washington would be malpractice. As for the federal transportation funding he and other mayors were lobbying for last week, he noted some $500 million a year could be at stake.
"The citizens of my city would like to see me pursuing something that could lead to a half billion more for our roads, bridges, highways and mass transit. I think that’s the right thing to do,” de Blasio said.
While the mayor has been pursuing a national agenda, like at last week’s event with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, some have also noted a lack of direct interaction with New Yorkers via town halls or even a call-in show. De Blasio said Monday there are no town halls in the works.
“I don’t have a specific plan, but, you know, what I do all the time is go out around different communities in different settings. You know, as I said, I was in Harlem for about an hour yesterday at the Eat-Up Harlem festival, talked to a whole number of people. You know, people just come up and talk about things—offer their views, raise concerns,” the mayor said.
As for concerns about his travel schedule, it will be lighter going forward, though de Blasio didn’t rule out a trip to Albany to lobby for his legislative agenda there.