Hizzoner goes blank on meet

THE MAYOR suffered another bout of memory loss regarding ethical lapses Tuesday, insisting he couldn’t remember a secret 2015 meeting he had with the city’s biggest lobbyist and nine of his clients.

The meeting — first revealed Monday in a report by the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics — occurred in a basement dining room at the since-closed City Hall restaurant in lower Manhattan on Sept. 28, sources told the Daily News.

That was after Mayor de Blasio had solicited donations from the lobbyist, James Capalino. Capalino and his clients then donated $10,000 each for a total of $100,000 to the mayor’s now-defunct nonprofit Campaign for One New York.

After the money was raised, Capalino provided de Blasio’s aide, Ross Offinger, with a list of the donors and got Offinger to set up the in-person breakfast meeting with the mayor.

The meeting was not disclosed on the public list that de Blasio claims shows all his meetings with lobbyists.

At an unrelated news conference Tuesday, the mayor was able to remember that “everything was handled appropriately,” but couldn’t recall anything else.

“I don’t remember what we discussed at that meeting. That was years ago,” he said.

His aides had said Monday night there was no lobbying at the meeting, implying that at least someone remembers what happened.

Asked Tuesday how his meeting with a lobbyist and nine lobbyist clients who had donated $100,000 to his cause at his request had nothing to do with lobbying, the mayor got testy.

“You can ask in whatever dramatic tone you want, but when I am lobbied by a lobbyist I disclose it; a city lobbyist lobbying me on any matter, I disclose it,” he responded. “As I’ve made very clear, in recent times I don’t talk to city lobbyists about their clients anymore. But I voluntarily disclose everything (that) has been put out there previously, and everything has been handled appropriately.” Several of the donor participants in the breakfast meeting with Capalino and the mayor were developers seeking help from City Hall on various projects.

Lobbyist Capalino agreed last month to pay $40,000 to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics to settle an investigation into allegations that he had provided the mayor with illegal gifts, the commission revealed Monday.

The commission’s is continuing.

The Manhattan U.S. attorney and Manhattan district attorney closed investigations last year into de Blasio’s fund-raising practices without bringing charges.

The federal prosecutors, however, said they found the mayor and his subordinates had intervened on behalf of donors seeking help from City Hall.

De Blasio has denied wrongdoing. investigation any