Chirl’s mega$taff is for ‘the people’: Blas
Mayor de Blasio said his wife, Chirlane McCray, absolutely needs a 14member staff that costs city taxpayers nearly $2 million a year — claiming they’re all helping New Yorkers recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Criticism of her pricey team doesn’t “take into account the work that’s being done,” de Blasio said at a City Hall press briefing Wednesday.
“This work is about the needs of the people of this city especially in this crisis,” he said after being asked about the apparent waste of taxpayer funds during a budget crisis.
De Blasio made the comments despite his insistence that there’s not enough money in city coffers to maintain parks or pick up trash.
McCray, who is considering a run for Brooklyn borough president, has doubled her staff in the past two years, including the recent addition of a $70,000 videographer who captured her baking ginger snaps during the peak of the city’s pandemic in April. The increase was first reported by The City.
De Blasio cited his wife’s work on mental health without naming her $1.25 billion initiative, ThriveNYC. The program has come under fire from critics for its lack of metrics and transparency. He also mentioned McCray’s leadership of a coronavirus racial inequality task force.
“The task force on racial inclusion and equity . . . has been moving big policy changes literally with the purpose of redistributing resources to the communities that are most affected” by COVID-19, de Blasio said.
McCray’s decision to bring on a $150,000-a-year senior adviser in April, after Hizzoner announced a hiring freeze, was approved because the adviser is considered an essential worker, de Blasio insisted without explaining further.
But, the mayor added, her staff would be included in the 22,000 cuts of municipal workers that are scheduled for October if the city doesn’t get state or federal aid to fill a coronavirus-induced budget deficit.
“Unquestionably there will be layoffs at City Hall. There’s no question about it for my staff, her staff, everyone,” he said.
McCray’s spokeswoman, Chanel Caraway, said her boss has “challenged the old, sexist ways of doing things. She doesn’t take a salary herself, but she’s leading a team to improve mental health in a trying time and confront systemic racism. Her team of public servants work hard to assist the people of New York City.”
Asked for specific areas where McCray has helped New Yorkers through the pandemic, Caraway cited broad topics like “implementing shortand long-term solutions to address disparities exposed by COVID-19,” “mental-health advocacy,” and “supporting the LGBTQ community.”
Councilman Antonio Reynoso (D-Brooklyn), who is also running for Brooklyn borough president, said taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill to boost McCray’s political future.
“The mayor can’t seriously expect to keep funding full-time, highly paid speechwriters and professional videographers for his wife’s political ambitions. It’s wrong, and it needs to stop,” Reynoso said.