Mayor de Blasio today is taking a break from a city filled with plenty of ideological gray for Paris -- where almost everyone can tell the good guys apart from the bad ones in the City of Light.

Hizzoner this morning laid flowers at a memorial for the victims of the Paris terror attacks. Back at home, even memorials are messy as Eric Garner's daughter claims a makeshift tribute to her father was burned up by vandals -- while police say the fire was accidentally set by a candle.

On Martin Luther King Day, de Blasio yesterday avoided any of the controversy that's dogged him since the police union all but blamed him for the deaths of two cops last month. Appearing at Al Sharpton's Harlem headquarters, de Blasio pointedly called on the audience to refrain from anti-police rhetoric – statements that were echoed by Sharpton.

With a poll showing that New Yorkers are weary of both Sharpton and police union leader Pat Lynch, de Blasio may have carved himself out a middle ground that could get him through a winter that's been ugly so far. While he may only be able to place flowers at memorials in Paris and not on Staten Island, de Blasio is learning how to lower the volume in a very noisy city.


Bob Hardt