DE BLASIO CUT POLICE BUDGET BUT NOT THE BUDGET FOR HIS WIFE'S 14 STAFF MEMBERS

Bill de Blasio's wife Chirlane McCray slammed over $2M staff of 14 as city faces $7B revenue loss

By Akshay Pai 

MEAWW News
August 19, 2020

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray have been slammed as a "disgrace" after it emerged that the latter has a staff of 14 that costs the city around $2 million each year even as budgetary cuts are being made all across the board, including to the police force.

McCray, who is said to be considering the possibility of making a run for Brooklyn borough president, employs eight full-time employees who together collect roughly $1.1 million in salaries through the office of the mayor each year, according to The City. These include a chief of staff, two deputy chiefs of staff, as a deputy communications director, press secretary, a speechwriter, and additional staff. Since December, she has added a $105,000 director of operations, a $150,000 senior advisor, and a new speechwriter at a salary of $117,000.

Besides these, she is also employing a "shadow staff" of at least six full-time workers who do not appear in her official roster, with their salaries often paid by other city agencies. Add these, and the collective payroll of her 14 employees is said to be around $2 million.

These six off-roster workers include Felicia Lee, a $140,000-a-year communications advisor employed since April 2018, whose salary is paid by the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Grace Choi, who is paid a salary of $130,000 by the city Department of Social Services. It also includes McCray's social media manager, who has been working for her for two years and who is on the payroll of the city’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, and two low-level staffers who support her work full-time.

This count of 14, however, still excludes other city and nonprofit employees who support McCray on specific projects that she oversees, including private fundraising on behalf of the city government, managing the Gracie Mansion mayoral residence, and leading the city's mental health program ThriveNYC.

In February, records show McCray hired a $70,000 videographer whose work for her includes a "Baking with the First Lady" clip that was posted during the height of the pandemic in early April and who is listed as an employee of the Department of Health.

When the wage bill was pointed out by the New York Post, City Hall spokeswoman Chanel Caraway defended McCray and said the city should be thankful to her team. "The First Lady manages a robust portfolio and her team works tirelessly to carry out goals and priorities on issues like mental health and domestic violence that will improve the lives of New Yorkers," she said. "As the City navigates unprecedented challenges triggered by the COVID-19 crisis, these public servants continue to show up every day to deliver solutions that reach into every neighborhood and family, and we owe them a debt of gratitude."

However, the optics of the situation don't make for pleasant reading for either McCray or de Blasio. Her hiring of the $150,000 senior advisor came just over a week after her husband announced that his budget office anticipated a $7.4 billion two-year revenue loss as a result of the coronavirus-induced financial crisis. He also warned that 22,000 city workers' jobs were at risk because of this deficit.

It was also highlighted how the mayor has also withdrawn $1 billion from the New York City Police Department's budget at a time when crime is on the rise. Citywide data obtained by the Daily Mail revealed that murders are up by 58 percent in the last month compared to the same time last year while shootings and burglaries are up by 176 percent and 25 percent respectively.

"How much taxpayer money will the mayor's wife pilfer before leaving office?" asked City Councilman Eric Ulrich. "How can she sleep at night hiring these hacks knowing so many other city workers are facing layoffs this fall? This is a disgrace!"