Embattled New York Mayor Bill de Blasio deflected growing criticism that rich residents are fleeing the Big Apple in record numbers; admitting some folks are abandoning the region but will be “replaced sooner or later with people that want to be here.”
“People are not going anywhere. That’s the central mission. Many people are deeply focused on this question. I don’t think the whole picture is being looked at. We’ve got eight million people who are not going anywhere,” said De Blasio.
Bill de Blasio: "There will be a huge number of people who want to be in New York City." pic.twitter.com/kGwqVkLLKX
— The Hill (@thehill) September 2, 2020
“A small number of people are choosing to go someplace else… There are still people coming in too. The vast majority of New Yorkers are standing and fighting, they’re loyal. Some people will go away, they will sooner or later be replaced by people that want to be here,” he added.
Watch de Blasio’s comments above.
DE BLASIO SPIRALS: 2 NYPD Shot, 1 Stabbed, Mayor Says Protests Remind Him of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’
Two members of the NYPD were shot in Brooklyn overnight Monday and another officer stabbed in the neck as protesters defied an 8pm curfew imposed by beleaguered Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“The melee unfolded when a suspect approached a cop on Church Avenue near Flatbush Avenue at about 11:45 p.m. and stabbed him in the neck, a police source said,” reports the New York Post.
Meanwhile, the mayor faced a growing backlash after saying the violent situation reminded him of John Lennon’s utopian anthem ‘Imagine.’
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio: "I don't mean to make light of this but I'm reminded of the song 'Imagine' by John Lennon." pic.twitter.com/ElerZgB2y3
— The Hill (@thehill) June 3, 2020
“I don’t mean to make light of this. But I’m reminded of the song ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon. We played it at my inauguration! What about a world where people got along differently? What about a world where we didn’t live with a lot of the restrictions that we live with now,” said De Blasio. “We’re not there yet. The protest movement themselves is how we make progress!”
Read the full report at the New York Post.
DE BLASIO SPIRALS: Embattled Mayor Says Spike in CoVID Hospitalizations Has Nothing to do With Protests
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters he would be “surprised” if a recent spike in CoVID-19 hospitalizations was related to the ongoing George Floyd protests taking place in all five boroughs.
“I would be surprised if that’s what’s causing it,” de Blasio said Friday. “I think we’re much more likely in the next week [or] 10 days to see a manifestation, if there is one.”
“It is dangerous to be close together,” he admitted. “I don’t like that.”
Watch Bill de Blasio get Booed at a George Floyd Memorial.
How embarrassing. pic.twitter.com/iaEzWStJNP
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 4, 2020
“If you were at one of those protests, I would, out of an abundance of caution, assume that you are infected,” Governor Cuomo said Thursday. “One person, one person can infect hundreds if you were at a protest.”
Read the full report at Fox News.