Gov’s a holy roiler
Sidesteps de Blasio on Cabrini
He’s showing who’s boss. Gov. Cuomo met with top Catholic and Italian-American leaders Friday to hammer out a plan to build a Mother Cabrini statue — a move that could freeze out Mayor de Blasio from having any role in honoring the saint.
The group, including Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, is considering building the Cabrini statue on property controlled by the state, not the city, possibly even near the World Trade Center, sources said.
Another possibility was placing the statue outside the Cabrini shrine in Washington Heights, where the remains of the patron saint of immigrants are interred.
“It was a great first meeting and we are all committed to building this statue of Mother Cabrini as soon as possible,” said Cuomo adviser Rich Azzopardi.
The governor on Columbus Day, this past Monday, promised to provide state funding for the statue after outraged ItalianAmericans blasted de Blasio for leaving Cabrini off a list of women to be honored with statues by the city.
First Lady Chirlane McCray failed to include Cabrini as part of the She Built NYC program, even though she was the top vote-getter in a poll held by the city to nominate honorees.
DiMarzio, who oversees the diocese of 1.5 million Catholics in Brooklyn and Queens, led a procession for Cabrini and is spearheading a church fundraising effort to cover the costs of a statue to honor Cabrini.
Cuomo on Monday hinted City Hall fumbled by snubbing her.
“Everyone has to feel respected and included and like they have a seat at the table. And the Italian-American community felt disrespected,” he said on Columbus Day after saying the state will help the Brooklyn archdiocese get the statue built.
On WNYC radio Friday, de Blasio refused to get into a titfor-tat with Cuomo for intervening in the controversy.
“I’m just not going to get lost in this,” the mayor said.
“It’s just not pertinent. What’s pertinent is we are trying to honor the majority of New Yorkers who are women and actually bring their history to life in this city and we’re going to keep doing that and there’s going to be more ahead and I think Mother Cabrini is someone who should be honored and we’re going to make sure it happens,” he said.