Up Close: One-on-one with New York City Mayor de Blasio
NEW YORK (WABC) -- It's been no secret that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is at odds with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. In an exclusive interview with Diana Williams for "Up Close", Mayor de Blasio made his case and expressed his frustration.
The mayor is fighting to keep mayoral control of schools and reform a lucrative tax deal for developers, but will he get the governor's help? Right now, it doesn't look that way.
The mayor's want list from Albany is a long one and with three weeks until lawmakers leave for summer recess, the governor says de Blasio came to the table too late.
"I think it's a distraction," de Blasio countered. "Look, we came up with a plan including the 421a reforms and the mansion tax that would create affordable housing for 160,000 New Yorkers over 10 years. Why wouldn't the governor say thank you?"
Earlier this week, the mayor lobbied Albany. Without changes to the 421a tax abatement program, his aggressive plans for affordable housing may be in jeopardy. He left Albany frustrated with the governor.
"On this issue, I'm surprised he is not acting like a partner. I think the bottom line is he is putting out distractions when we need to get to the core issue," de Blasio said.
Crime is another issue for the mayor. The crime rate is creeping up. Murders are up 15% and shootings are up 7% since the beginning of the year. As far as adding more police officers?
"I'll take the point of view of what we saw last year with the same exact number of police officers, but without a lot of the tools that we are now using. We took a difficult start and turned it into a record-breaking year. I believe we will do that again with the tools we have right now," he said.
On a lighter note, the mayor now has two kids in college. Dante heads off to Yale this fall.
"I could not be more proud of him. He worked so hard and he really, everything we could ask for in both our children. They are fantastic children, but I give him credit for a work ethic that got him in," de Blasio said.
