HOUSE OF BARBS
Mayor smacks gov on ‘petty politics’ — Cuomo blasts ‘sweetheart’ deals
THE CONFLICT in the Middle East has nothing on the ongoing feud between Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo.
Hizzoner said Cuomo’s refusal to support his ambitious affordable-housing agenda was a “slap in the face of every New Yorker.”
The two pols continued to spar as they avoided each other in the 51st annual Celebrate Israel Parade on Sunday.
De Blasio took the first potshot of the day when he spoke Sunday morning at the Concord Baptist Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
“We’re not blind to petty politics,” de Blasio told the scores of church members gathered. “We’re not blind to the games people play.
“I’ve heard the governor say not everyone agrees,” he added. “Well, guess what? Not everyone agrees on a lot of things. Sometimes it takes leadership.”
Cuomo joined the increasingly heated prizefight with fellow Democrat de Blasio before he marched down the sea of blue and white along the packed parade route on Fifth Ave.
“I think, first of all, everybody needs to take a deep breath on this issue,” he told reporters. “We all support affordable housing.”
Ignoring his own advice, Cuomo then ripped into the de Blasio administration’s plan to reform the 421-a tax abatement program, saying it “raised serious questions on a number of fronts.”
“I believe the mayor’s plan offers a sweetheart deal to large real estate developers in the city,” he said. “Now, I understand they need an incentive to provide affordable housing, but the mayor’s plan would give them a 35-year tax break. I mean, that’s really extraordinary.”
De Blasio’s proposal to reform
I believe the mayor’s (affordable housing) plan offers a sweetheart deal to large real estate developers in the city. GOV. CUOMO
the controversial tax abatement program calls for developers to set aside more units as affordable housing.
The plan has been hailed by real estate big shots, but labor groups have criticized the mayor for failing to force developers to pay union wages at all 421-a locations.
Cuomo has aligned himself with the labor groups.
“I know a lot of housing advocacy groups are quite upset because they don’t really believe that it’s affordable housing,” he said Sunday. “They think that it’s for people that make over $100,000 a year, and that’s not the most critical need. These are real serious questions that have to be addressed.”
De Blasio, who showed up about an hour after Cuomo at the parade and never appeared with him, continued to snipe at the governor.
“I guess the governor’s not interested in the facts,” he told reporters, noting the city’s plan ends “tax giveaways for condominiums that were approved previously by this governor.”
De Blasio added, “I’m absolutely surprised that he seems to want to continue giveaways to developers without us getting affordable housing back. It makes no sense. Why would we keep subsidizing luxury condos? Everyone knows the governor wants a one-year extension of the status quo.”
The two men have long publicly proclaimed to be best buds despite taking vastly different positions on major policy positions.
On Sunday, de Blasio indicated he’s disappointed in Cuomo, who was his boss as secretaty of housing and urban development during the Clinton administration.
“I’m just surprised that the governor is acting this way,” the mayor said. “I endorsed him. I worked very hard for him. I worked very hard to convince my fellow progressives that they could trust what he said.”
The housing legislation is just one of several high-profile proposals with an uncertain outcome as the June 17 adjournment of the state Legislature session looms.
The other outstanding big-ticket issues include boosting the minimum wage and mayoral control of city schools.
Parade attendees said they hoped the sparring would be resolved before the end of the session.
“I hope that they can put all their mishegas (craziness) aside and show support for Israel,” said Warren Cohn, 27, a consultant for Michael Scotto, a Democrat who is running for district attorney of Nassau County.
“Today is not really about that,” said Susan Canter, of Manhattan, who walked alongside Cuomo in the parade. “All politics aside, this is about supporting Israel.”
We’re not blind to petty politics. I’ve heard the governor say not everyone agrees. Well, guess what?... Sometimes it takes leadership. MAYOR DE BLASIO