Bloomberg didn't rush back after train accident

From the Wall Street Journal:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in Bermuda on Sunday when a train derailed in the Bronx, the most recent time that the mayor has been out of town when a major incident in New York City occurred, a person familiar with the matter said.

Mr. Bloomberg, who steps down on Dec. 31 after 12 years at City Hall, was playing golf Sunday at Bermuda’s majestic Mid Ocean golf club, a person who spotted the mayor said. The Metro-North Railroad train derailment — killing four people and injuring more than 60 others — occurred at roughly 7:20 a.m. New York time.

Mr. Bloomberg was golfing in the early morning and did not leave the course until roughly 1 p.m, the person said. Bermuda is one hour ahead of New York time.

A spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg, a 71-year-old billionaire businessman, declined to discuss his whereabouts on Sunday. The mayor did not attend any of the briefings at the scene of the accident Sunday, but he visited with the injured at two hospitals after nightfall.

He's not going anywhere this time

Mayor Bloomberg on Thursday kicked off an intense, multiday "not in Bermuda" hurricane campaign.

The mayor and his top aides were pummeled last winter for being out of town - and woefully ill prepared - as the devastating post-Christmas blizzard brought the city to its knees.

Hizzoner was ridiculed for being in Bermuda until just before that storm. Eight months later, the preparations for Hurricane Irene have been the polar opposite - and extensively publicized.

He and his aides have rolled out regular public briefings and laid out extensive plans for police boats, hospital readiness, fallen tree-removal crews and even warning of evacuations from coastal areas - at least three days before the 'cane's arrival.

This time, Bloomberg and his team will be hunkering down for a working weekend as Irene barrels through - "it's fair to say I'll be around," he quipped.

Find your zone:

NYC Hurricane Irene Evacuation Map

Bloomberg may have to divulge Bermuda trips

From the Daily News:

The mayor's office has refused to say where Bloomberg was.

When Vallone asked Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith during the hearing whether First Deputy Mayor Patti Harris was in town, Goldsmith deflected the question. He acknowledged being in Washington.

The mayor's office says Bloomberg and his aides are entitled to privacy and don't have to reveal their whereabouts.

Bloomberg says he's in constant touch with his staff by phone, email and even police radio through his NYPD bodyguards when he travels.

But Vallone, who chairs the Council's public safety committee, says that's not good enough.

He's working on legislation that would force the mayor to file a public notice when he leaves town and designate a chain of command in his absence.

In his letter to Bloomberg yesterday, Vallone asked for details on how the mayor complies with a current city charter requirement to appoint a boss when he leaves the five boroughs.

A Bloomberg spokesman declined to comment on Vallone's request but said the administration plans to respond to the letter.

Bloomberg's whereabouts confirmed

From City Room:

Mr. Bloomberg and his aides refuse to talk about it. But the residents of Bermuda have taken no such vow of silence.

They say that Mr. Bloomberg’s plane arrived on the island, where he owns a large waterfront vacation home, sometime after midnight on Christmas morning. They spoke on condition of anonymity, for fear of inflaming the mayor and the local authorities, who prize discretion for visiting dignitaries.

Mike's McMansion

From the NY Times:

Mr. Bloomberg, who owns a waterfront estate here, has walled off his life in Bermuda from voters in New York, arguing it is none of their business. He steadfastly refuses to say when he is on the island, and to blindfold prying eyes, he has blocked aviation Web sites from making public the movements of his private planes.

Mr. Bloomberg bought an estate in Bermuda, called Stokes Bay, by 1998. He demolished the 2,620-square-foot house and commissioned a local architect to replace it with a $10 million home nearly three times its size in Tucker’s Town.

Even by Bermudan standards, it was flashy: five balconies, four bedrooms, seven bathrooms, an in-ground pool and space for four cars, all hidden by a gated driveway, according to documents on file with the Bermuda Department of Planning.

The plans showed a sprawling property dotted by “imported” palm trees, long pergolas and a ridged roof that collects rainwater for drinking.

Mr. Bloomberg’s new neighbors did not approve. In a tart letter, the planning committee at the Mid Ocean club, which acts as a zoning board for nearby land, complained that the proposed house was “too large” for the site and would result in the “obliteration” of views for nearby residents. It deemed the project “unacceptable.” The Bermudan government found its own problems with the plans. Its marine experts objected to the mayor’s proposal to build a large dock in front of the house, arguing it would disrupt the sea grass beds in the area, records show.

Mr. Bloomberg’s architect agreed to shave three feet off the height of the house and abandon plans for the dock.

The mayor also takes along a police detail when he travels, flying two officers on his private plane and paying as much as $400 a night to put them up at a hotel near his house; the city pays their wages while they are there, as it does whether Mr. Bloomberg is New York or not. Guns are largely forbidden in Bermuda — even most police officers do not use them — but the mayor’s guards have special permission to carry weapons. A spokesman for the Police Department declined to comment.

At times, though, his attempts at privacy border on the extreme. Shortly after Mr. Bloomberg was elected mayor, he requested that the Bermudan government seal all of his housing records, according to a letter from his architect. The government refused. Since then, the mayor’s gardeners have stopped trimming the vegetation around his house. It has grown several feet taller and now largely blocks the viewfrom the water. (The downside: it obstructs the mayor’s view.)

City Room focuses more closely on this hypocrisy. (Of course, not until after the 3rd term election...)

Bloomberg sending cops to Bermuda?

From the Village Voice:

It would appear that the NYPD has agreed to send gang intelligence investigators to the lavish resort island of Bermuda to help out the cops there.

Who arranged this posh retreat? Why, according to Bermuda's paper of record, it was Mayor Michael Bloomberg himself who offered the NYPD's assistance.

We are being impertinent to note that Bloomberg happens to have a $10.5 million vacation home on the island. The mansion has a 500-square-foot bedroom, a "vanishing horizon pool," ocean views, and a living room so posh that "you wouldn't want to come through those doors in a swimsuit," the New York Observer once wrote.

So, let's get this straight: the billionaire mayor in the midst of a budget crisis, with a shrinking police force, has decided to loan experienced police investigators to a resort island where he owns a mansion. Sure, crime is down, but this is ridiculous!