Blasio bobs & weaves in ‘favor’ flap
Dodges school query y
Mayor de Blasio has for a second time refused to refute allegations that he intervened on behalf of a fund-raiser who sought to have the city lift a vacate order on a Hasidic school in Brooklyn.
Hizzoner was asked on WNYC radio Friday about a report last week that said he called the cellphone of Satmar community leader Moishe Indig in December 2014 to weigh in as Indig was meeting with the Brooklyn head of the city Buildings Department.
But de Blasio wouldn’t address the alleged call or related allegations directly on Friday, saying only that there was “a lot wrong with the reporting” in the story.
“I’m not going into detail, because it’s a matter under investigation,” he told WNYC’s Brian Lehrer twice. “I want to respect the investigatory process.”
Indig, who hosted a fund-raiser for de Blasio’s run for mayor in October 2013, did not return messages seeking comment.
The Post reported on Sunday that the alleged intervention wasas one of many City Hall-related d matters under investigation by thee Manhattan US Attorney’s Office. .
De Blasio was questioned by y federal prosecutors last Friday y over his fund-raising and is in thee middle of a fund-raising trip too Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ., and Beverly Hills, Calif.
City records show buildings inspectors found illegal classrooms in the basement of the Sanford Street school on Dec. 18, 2014, prompting them to issue a partial vacate order.
Six days later, the order was rescinded by the Buildings Department’s Brooklyn commissioner,r Ira Gluckman.
Asked about the incident earlier this week, the mayor told NY1 that he’s comfortable bringing up issues raised by community leaders with agency heads but that he doesn’t pressure them to take action.
Speaking Friday, he said he saw no problem with that approach.
“I’m convinced that the agencies know that they should make the decision that they find ap- propriate. That’s everything I’ve experienced,” he told WNYC.
“I get issues brought to me by community leaders, elected officials, business leaders, labor leaders all day long. I believe that the folks who work for me understand their job is to make decisions on behalf of all people, figure out what’s in the public’s interest,” de Blasio added. “I’m very convinced that’s what’s been done consistently.”
Matt Mahoney, who was an aide to Mayor Rudy Giuliani and a Department of Environmental Protection associate commissioner under Mayor Mike Bloomberg, called that claim “ridiculous.”
“I worked for 2 NYC Mayors. The 5 worst words any Commissioner wanted to hear was ‘Please hold for the Mayor,’ ” he tweeted, adding the hashtag “#nopressure.”