To Mayor Bill de Blasio, the recent commotion over Rachel Noerdlinger, his wife’s top aide — who failed to disclose during a background check that she lives with a boyfriend who has a serious criminal history — is a tabloid-fueled personal attack that merits no further discussion.
“Case closed,” the mayor said this week, adopting the move-it-along-folks attitude that has quickly become a de Blasio signature during his first nine months in office.
It is not unusual for mayors to want irritating story lines to go away. But the Noerdlinger episode has fueled a broader question about Mr. de Blasio and the values of his young administration: how a onetime champion of transparency and accountability can square those ideals with the newfound power — and frustrations — of his office.
As a candidate, Mr. de Blasio pledged an ask-me-anything era at City Hall, promoting himself as a different, friendlier breed of political leader. And as public advocate, he frequently assailed former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg for standing by senior aides, such as the former schools chief Cathleen P. Black, who had found themselves under fire.
Now, experiencing some of the same difficulties faced by his predecessors, Mr. de Blasio is responding with the same sort of peevishness and obfuscation he once bemoaned.
The mayor has shut down questions about why he phoned a high-ranking police official after the arrest of a campaign supporter, telling reporters, “That’s the end of the story.” Told by a television reporter that New Yorkers wanted to know why his police-issued S.U.V. was speeding on residential streets in Queens, the mayor replied, “I’m not interested in the construct of what you as an individual think many New Yorkers think.”
Even lighthearted queries can prompt a stony response. Last month, Mr. de Blasio refused to say how he felt after learning of the death of Staten Island Chuck, the groundhog who fell from his arms in a ceremonial mishap. “Talk to the Staten Island Zoo,” the mayor said, mirthlessly.
Determined not to let critics or news coverage set their agenda, Mr. de Blasio and his City Hall advisers have taken to ignoring inquiries on matters that displease them. His communications team believes strongly that most negative stories will disappear, or at least be forgotten by the time Mr. de Blasio’s re-election effort rolls around in 2017.
I think a bigger question is why a first lady needs a chief of staff.
29 comments:
I think this arrogant chip on the shoulder attitude is fairly common among all elected officials. It has gotten almost insufferable in the past decade or so.
Not defending DeBlasio here since there are important unanswered questions but the tone of the article seems to suggest that the NY Times feels neglected now that the administration is in power and the honeymoon is over.
Mentioning the lack of comment about the death of Chuck the groundhog is, at best, petty.
Choosing to include a minor matter like this in what could be an important story makes the Times article read more like a lover's quarrel than actual news.
DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO.
The day something big and bad happens again in this City, watch this guy and his people fall apart. And like a good Socialist, he will impose Martial Law.
This mayor has turned out to big a much bigger ass than many thought and a total arrogant ass at that.
Election day is coming. De Blaz isn't running but I'm sure some of his cohorts will be on the ballot. You get the government you deserve.
Didn't anyone notice that when the Blaz was gaining steam during the primaries then trouncing lotha in the polls,mayor fun size kept maligning him with foreboding comments about how the city will return to the "bad old days" once he was elected.Funny thing is the Blaz got more popular and won thanks to bloomberg,who at the time was toxic and pretty much cost the primary of his former toady speaker quinn.
Blaz and funsize have been using smoke and mirrors for a while when they are not so strange bedfellows.
Since then,despite good for mankind programs like raising minimum wages and trying to make housing affordable,he's keeping up the oppressive status quo of insulting,undermining,and refusing the questions of reporters.This is actually going around the nation with most elected officials,but at least no ones getting their heads cut off.
But Big Bill has the audacity of hope that has long as the desperate people of the 5 boros are mollified with their pittances no one will care who he associates with.
this has just begun,actually it was there from the start.If anything,what should be demanded is charlane's banishment from city hall.She seems to be cracking the whip.
This is what happens when you have a weak slate of candidates and only 10% of the eligible electorate votes.
There are two separate issues here. The personal and the policy. There are surely arguments to be made that the two mayors display the same MO with the press. But they are light years away on policy. I try to vote based on the latter. And, for me, DeB is far and away the better mayor.
It may appear that way at first, but really, what's different about their policies? They both have/had the following:
Bullshit affordable housing - check
Pandering to the rich at the expense of everyone else - check
Failure to respond to FOIL requests - check
Developers allowed to get away with just about anything - check
Alienation of public parkland - check
On second thought I would have preferred a 4th term for Bloomberg. This fool is turning out to be worse than Mayor Mike. Bite my tongue. I will not be voting for Di Blah Blah for a second term.
Not defending DeBlasio here since there are important unanswered questions but the tone of the article seems to suggest that the NY Times feels neglected now that the administration is in power and the honeymoon is over.
Mentioning the lack of comment about the death of Chuck the groundhog is, at best, petty.
Choosing to include a minor matter like this in what could be an important story makes the Times article read more like a lover's quarrel than actual news.
No, I think the NYTimes citation of the incident was quite apt, even though a minor incident. It wasn't that deBlasio was in any way responsible or ethically obligated to comment, but for a guy who ran on an "I care about the little guy" ticket after Bloomberg left Staten Islanders to die during Sandy by expropriating sorely needed generators to attempt to hold the NYC Marathon, the new mayor expressed the same attitude. Retorting that the reporter should ask the Staten Island zookeepers when it cost him nothing to acknowledge the borough's loss effectively sent the same Bloomberg message: it's not worth his time.
meet the new boss
same as the old boss
townshend
check
"Why a first lady needs a chief of staff?"
Take it back over 20 years ago with the Clinton philosophy of two for the price of one.
These lefty career politicians will take a mile when you give them an inch.
Suck and drain the taxpayer's teat till it's dry, roll over burp and ask for more, and expect you to say thank you.
Corruption and coverup is never a minor matter(as one anonymous writer posted on October 12th, regarding how he/she believes that employees at the NY Times appear to be feeling neglected), and neither is the hiring of Rachel Noerdlinger, whose extremely poor judgment only magnifies Bill de Blasio's egregious judgment, which is far worse. Over the past 12 years, Michael Bloomberg's real legacy is that he murdered New York--and his monarchy rule, unprecedented arrogance and ruthless dictatorship will neither be forgiven or forgotten. Now, the next generation of monarchy rule has made its way to City Hall (by default, no less), and he brought excess baggage! Question: Who the hell does a pious fraud like Al Sharpton think he is? Answer: The real unofficial mayor, along with de Blasio's work starved wife (I thought the imperious title of chief of staff was for a public official--not a First Lady--where at best she is a glorified personal assistant that is obscenely taxpayer funded. Alas, there is such a frightening bacchanalia of drunken power in the amateur players of this City Hall, that every time I hear the phrase, "A Tale Of Two Cities," I laugh in disbelief that the new sheriff is actually the one responsible for causing the very same disparity and galvanization that he purports to remedy. Same circus, different clowns (and these clowns are downright dangerous)!
In one weekend on the topic of Rachel Noerdlinger, as reported by the Daily News, there was enough madness from this administration to open a new asylum within the corridors of tainted and misguided power at City Hall (and a branch at the State Capitol--thanks to a spineless Andrew Cuomo). First, we have the mayor expiating himself from giving Ms. Noerdlinger a free pass for not disclosing critical background information about her living arrangement with a convicted murderer and pot-smoking drug dealer. Then, this whopper on Saturday from de Blasio spokesperson Phil Walzak, when he commended Ms. Noerdlinger's experience in fighting for social justice and civil rights, which claims to follow the Bloomberg commitment by the mayor to address income inequality and to lift up New Yorkers struggling to get by. (Is Rachel Noerdlinger the face--and role model--of income inequality?). Up next, we have the Reverend Sharpton crying foul, as he suggests that every city employee now be questioned about their living arrangements, which begs the question: Exactly how many high level patronage hires choose to openly live with murderous drug dealers, who proudly reveal a vengeful hatred of all law enforcement? Finally, we have the great, open leader of New York State, Governor Andrew Cuomo. When asked about Mayor de Blasio's choice for his wife's errand girl, er, chief of staff, he quickly deferred to answering the question, without actually answering it (just like he did when he lied to the Daily News in early June while visiting upstate in Cooperstown--when he said that a nomination from the Independence Party would be a decision that he would make somewhere down the road--when he already accepted their nomination hours before), when he sheepishly stated that the handling of the matter should be something addressed by City Hall. Well, Mr. Mendacious, I mean, Governor, City Hall has not handled it--they covered it up and then became annoyed at the press for asking about it. In closing, is there any wonder why voters in New York simply abstain from voting (or mark a blank ballot, if they even bother to wake up on Election Day) because of false, fake and failed leadership, as brazenly demonstrated by these arrogant, evil, predatory cowards of entrenched privilege, private splendor and unjust enrichment? When it comes to the continual de Blasio and Cuomo side shows (and their loyal henchmen of depravity and dysfunction), it's a vile loop that is straight out of Atila the Hun and Caligula--and the reason why New York State is fiscally and emotionally bereft!
" These lefty career politicians will take a mile when you give them an inch.
Suck and drain the taxpayer's teat till it's dry, roll over burp and ask for more, and expect you to say thank you"
Sounds more "W" and his wars ans and tax breaks fort eh wealthy.
It was Bloombag who wasted just over billion dollars on outside 'consultants" and vendors. City Time was just the most visible scandal.
I always believed and maintained that former Mayor David Dinkins was quite possibly the very worst, feckless mayor that dishonored City Hall, as well as the taxpaying citizens that were at the mercy of a 'taxation without representation' mandate. Then came the draconian Giuliani years, followed by the corporatocracy that embodied Bloomberg as a parvenu plutocrat of epic fail--for everyone except fellow members of his millionaire's club--where wealth always determined wealth. But in Bill de Blasio, we have a winner in the 'losing' category, and has systematically and conclusively failed every smell test that has been visited upon him over the short span of nine defining months. He is a dismissive, irrational coward and dissembling rationalizer that continues to excuse and expiate himself from a solid record of extremely bad decisions that are as outrageous as they are unstable. If de Blasio continues to galvanize and endanger this city by allowing his wife, Al Sharpton and a murderous, drug dealing boyfriend's de facto chief of staff to sit in on critically sensitive NYPD compstat meetings, then impeachment proceedings should be urgently considered--unless of course the safety and welfare of an entire police force (and the public it serves) is not serious business to a society that now considers TV shows like 'Dancing With The Stars,' the NBA, MLB and the NFL pressing matters. Sleepwalkers everywhere, wake up and take back your Constitutional freedoms!
Noerdlinger is mrs deB's girlfriend,and we get tp pay for it . How is she still living in new jersey?? Either way as a city employee, she is required to pay city income tax. She is committing a crime. Who in the media is gonna hammer this home!
Correction: In my last comment regarding former Mayor David Dinkins, an error was made on the fourth line, which should correctly read: --where wealth always determined worth (not the word wealth repeated, as previously stated). Please forgive the typographical error.
We'll he's a prick, yes-- but he's a communist. Bloomberg was not a commie.
Get ready, New York! The Neo-fascists are hardly working at City Hall--and Albany. It's the 'Friends & Family' plan in action for anyone who is a good friend of Wild Bill and Andrew the Anarchist. Between these two public hustlers, cronyism, nepotism, favoritism, preferential treatment and sweetheart deals are back from the days of Boss Tweed, with a vengeance--and the public be damned. The corruption in New York that continues to entrench all tiers of government conformity gets scarier by the minute! Without challenge, there will never be change, as corruption flourishes from its breeding point!
Today's News the Mayoral aide Rachel Noerdlinger owes $900 in parking tickets. Nice..real nice!
Jeez Richard...is that a comment or a thesis in installments. Brevity is the key to good posting.
Broomburglar was not a Sandinista
deBlazio is a puppet of the labor unions, guilds of feudal casuists, guided by Pop Bessup
My goal, Mr. Anonymous, is to post a message that awakens people online into reclaiming their collective freedoms and democracy--and not accept with apathy the colossal failures in leadership that we are burdened with that could easily consume the space of a loft of padded cells! In closing, perhaps you are wired for brevity (and silence and complicity). As for me, I prefer talking truth to power with eloquence--regardless of how many words it takes to pound in the message. Obviously, no one ever listened to a messenger that relied upon brevity in the past. My words are an urgent wake up call--but who is listening (with criticism, no less) is what is deeply troubling!
It's more than a week now that the press have been calling for the removal of Rachel Noerdliner, chief of staff to Mayor de Blasio's wife, Chirlane, who is not a public official and doesn't require a taxpayer-funded position in the first place (if she wants a lackey so badly, then why doesn't she pay for it out of her own pocket?). Now, voters are seeing the true colors of de Blasio's arrogance and disloyalty to New York City, and the income inequality that he purportedly cares so much about. Yet another arrogant, double crossing coward who lied his way into an office that he has managed to dishonor and malign so completely, that my only hope is that impeachment will be quickly looming on the horizon of this corrupt, dishonest and tainted administration. But when there is tacit approval from Governor Cuomo, after having stated that he is confident in how City Hall is handling the debacle of Rachel Noerdlinger (when Mayor Al Sharpton and his second in command, Bill de Blasio--or is it third in command-- after Chirlane), when they were collectively protecting and excusing egregious conduct and extremely bad hiring decisions. Worse, the mayor can add a new bad habit of terminal annoyance to his deeply flawed record: ignoring the press with impunity. And if he can ignore them at all cost, just imagine how much worse it will get when he ignores his taxpaying constituents. Oh, wait, he's already doing that, with a delusional grandeur that marginalizes the shear madness of King Ludwig of Bavaria, Caligula and Henry the VIII. Brace yourself, disenfranchised citizens, for matters to get uglier and more defiant at City Hall--with the governor's blessing, of course (which is an entirely new topic on depraved sociopathy and nihilism)!
In today's Daily News, it gets better regarding Rachel Noerdlinger. The newest jumpers on to the 'Keep Rachel' on the city payroll are the NAACP, Hazel Dukes and a woman named Tamika Mallory. Let me make this simple for you, ladies. I don't care if Ms. Noerdlinger is purple--this is not a race issue. It's a woman who clearly does not choose to live by the rules (with a convicted murderer and drug dealer, no less), and leans on her temporarily powerful friends Chirlane, Bill and the Rev. Al for treatment and privilege that no one else (including you and me), would ever receive--even if the circumstances were far less damning! When people from the NAACP start crying foul and 'witch hunt' when there is a litany of evidence against a black woman (whose only apparent disenfranchisement is a lifestyle that is self-imposed), then it seriously undermines real and genuine cases of discrimination that deserve a fair and honest investigation. But a ridiculous demand for City Hall to retain an obvious derelict like Rachel Noerdlinger is to condone misconduct and dishonesty, in the name of cronyism, patronage and favoritism--regardless of credible evidence that would not absolve any public official--least of all the girlfriend of the mayor's wife. To hear the NAACP defend a case that is so clearly without defense, speaks volumes of exactly whom is racist about whom? Also, Affirmative Action programs will be looked upon with outright suspicion when all sane rules are ignored in the name of patronage hiring at the top of city government. As I have said many times to all involved who practice a selective and occasional tone deafness, if Chirlane McCray wants a personal assistant, she is free to hire the questionable skills of her pal out of her own pocket. And we all see how fast that is happening, as John and Jane taxpayer continue to absorb this fiscally irresponsible tab. In closing, the bizarro world of Mayor de Blasio's City Hall clearly dictates that: Right is wrong, and wrong is right--and he's only warming up!
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