De Blasio Dogged By NYC Issues On Presidential Debate Stage

NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio's troubles at home followed him to Wednesday's second presidential debate as he faced questions about the killing of Eric Garner and lead poisoning in public housing.

The mayor drew some of the night's most targeted queries even as he struggles to gain traction in the polls and among donors, putting him at risk of missing September's third round of debates.

Protesters demanding the firing of the NYPD cop who choked Garner five years ago interrupted the 10 canididates' opening statements. And the CNN moderators asked de Blasio about the New York City Housing Authority's persistent lead-poisoning problem, noting that the Detroit theater they were in was near Flint, Michigan, the site of a notorious lead crisis.

De Blasio turned in his answers to a familiar strategy of blaming the federal government, even spinning one response into an attack on the former vice president and Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden.

The focused questions did not help the mayor stand out. De Blasio spoke for just shy of 10 minutes in the nearly three-hour debate, the second-smallest time among the 10 candidates. He closed the evening with a direct fundraising pitch that appeared to fall flat.

Pantaleo Looms Large

Shouts of "Fire Pantaleo!" echoed through Detroit's Fox Theater as de Blasio wrapped up his opening statement. They returned when it was Corey Booker's turn, forcing the New Jersey senator to pause and wait for the protesters to be silenced.

For about 30 seconds, the chants issued a reminder to de Blasio — and the national audience — that Officer Daniel Pantaleo remains on the city's police force more than five years after putting Eric Garner in a chokehold that ended his life as cops tried to arrest him for allegedly selling loose cigarettes.

Former Housing and Urban Development secretary Julián Castro brought Pantaleo's name up later, noting that the Department of Justice decided just last month not to bring criminal charges against him. "That police officer should be off the street," he said.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the only other New York official on stage, piled on: "If I was the mayor, I would fire him," she said.

Asked why Pantaleo was still on the force, de Blasio said the Justice Department told the city it could not start disciplinary proceedings against the cop as the feds pursued their own probe. An internal trial eventually went forward, and Police Commissioner James O'Neill is expected to render a final decision by the end of this month.

"There's finally going to be justice," de Blasio said. "I have confidence in that, in the next 30 days, in New York."

The mayor then tried to lay some blame on Biden, asking what he did in the White House to push the Justice Department to act. Biden did not answer the question directly.

NYCHA On National TV

Moderator Dana Bash hit de Blasio with an unexpected question about NYCHA's lead-poisoning woes. The mayor leaned on familiar talking points: The federal government has abandoned public housing, he said, while the city is working to eradicate childhood lead poisoning.

"Lead poisoning has gone down 90 percent since 2005, and we're going to literally bring it down to zero," de Blasio said.

But the mayor omitted several key facts. His administration was caught lying to the federal government for years about lead-paint inspections that had not actually been done. City officials initially obscured the number of kids affected by the dangerous substance. And the Department of Health allowed NYCHA to successfully contest the results of inspections that found lead in apartments, according to the New York Post.

Moreover, news broke while de Blasio was on stage that the Department of Education discovered lead paint in more than 900 classrooms serving children younger than 6.

Fundraising Pitch Fails To Impress

De Blasio tried in his closing statement to promote a new plan to "tax the hell out of the wealthy" by directing viewers to a new campaign website, taxthehell.com. The site includes details of his proposal for a wealth tax like the one backed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren — and, importantly, a link to donate to the mayor's campaign.

De Blasio's pitch included a line that seemed meant to draw applause but fell flat in the theater. Addressing President Donald Trump directly, he said, "Donald, you're the real socialist. The problem is, it's socialism for the rich."

The mayor appeared to pause for cheers, but the crowd was silent.