De Blasio Was Paid $3K For Every Hour Spent At City Hall

NEW YORK — He's making a living-large wage. Mayor Bill de Blasio was paid more than $3,000 for each hour he reportedly spent at City Hall in the month that he launched his longshot presidential campaign.

The mayor logged just seven hours at the seat of city government in May, when he joined more than 20 other Democrats seeking their party's nomination for the White House, the New York Post reported Monday.

While de Blasio frequently works outside of City Hall, the building houses central staff and his presence there is central to his job as the city's leader.

According to Patch's calculations, the mayor earns an annual salary of $258,750, which breaks down to $21,562.50 a month. That means he was paid about $3,080 for each of the seven hours that he spent in the historic Lower Manhattan building in the month of May.

The 11 appointments for which de Blasio showed up to City Hall accounted for a small fraction of the 152 city events he had scheduled that month, according to the Post's review of his official calendar.

De Blasio was frequently working while on the move in May — he had 66 calls or meetings while he was on the campaign trail or was being driven around the city, the Post reported.

The mayor's scant appearances at City Hall in May point to how focused he was on his fledgling White House bid, which has frequently taken him away from the city in recent months.

De Blasio departed for Iowa hours after launching his campaign on May 16. He's left New York more than 10 times since then on campaign trips to early primary states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina and jaunts to other cities such as Los Angeles and Washington.

Mayoral press secretary Freddi Goldstein did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Patch's calculation of de Blasio's per-hour pay. But the mayor has downplayed the importance of his physical presence at City Hall.

"The city has more jobs than it’s ever had. It’s the safest it’s ever been. The social fabric is stronger than it’s been in a long time. The schools are getting better. Graduation rate is up," de Blasio said in December, after The New York Times detailed how little time he spent in the building.

"That’s what the Times or any journalist should be starting with — are we achieving the outcomes, not do I have my meeting in Brooklyn or do I have my meeting in City Hall or Gracie Mansion," he added.