2016 was a difficult year for Mayor Bill de Blasio, as he grappled with a growing homelessness crisis, multiple investigations into his fundraising practices and an increasingly rocky relationship with the press. So it was perhaps fitting he should end the year with a contentious news conference. NY1's Bobby Cuza filed the following report.

It was just the kind of wide-ranging news conference Mayor de Blasio does less frequently these days. He increasingly chooses other means of getting his message out, like a city-produced video posted online Tuesday featuring Broadway actors touting the mayor’s record.

As it turned out, the video dominated much of Thursday’s end-of-year Q-and-A session.

"It’s not an ad. You can say it all day long. It’s not an ad," de Blasio said.

Some watchdogs question whether the video is an appropriate use of city resources; come Sunday the mayor will be barred from appearing in any government-funded ad because it’s an election year. 

But the mayor disputes whether it constitutes an ad at all.

De Blasio: The notion it was an ad is outrageous and ludicrous.

Q: The taxpayers -
De Blasio: Henry, it's, advertising is when you buy something.

De Blasio: You guys can ask all day long. I think it was a light-hearted attempt to get information out.

De Blasio: I think it was funny.
Q: Is the job going to your head if you think it’s appropriate to have professional singers sing your praises at city expense?
De Blasio: I feel my head is quite fine.

Meanwhile, reflecting on the year, the mayor pointed to crime-fighting, affordable housing and graduation rates as bright spots, while citing homelessness as the number one frustration.

"I feel still frustrated that despite a lot of efforts around homelessness, we haven’t gotten where we want to go," de Blasio said.

“As for his New Year's Eve plans, de Blasio said he’ll be right here in Times Square for the ball drop, and will temporarily set aside his ongoing feud with Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier that evening to join the governor on the ceremonial first ride of the Second Avenue Subway, which opens to the public on New Year's Day.”

And while certainly no surprise, the mayor confirmed he won’t be attending next month’s presidential inauguration.