Bill De Blasio Ripped For Trips To Park Slope Gym Amid Climate Concerns

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's daily motorcade rides from Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side to the Park Slope YMCA are taking increasing heat in the wake of President Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.

During his weekly radio appearance on WNYC Friday, one caller put the mayor on blast for the routine, which involves an 11-and-a-half mile trip down the East Side highway in a black SUV, flanked by police cars.

"You spoke eloquently about stepping up our game in light of Trump’s withdrawal from Paris," the caller, identified as "Charles in Manhattan," began.

"How about you stepping up your game, leading by example, getting out of your SUV armada?" Charles asked. "And if you need to go to the Park Slope Y five days a week rather than a gym near you, why don’t you take mass transit, or even once in awhile ride a bike, like the vast majority of your fellow New Yorkers, so you will know how we suffer under this transit system."

The caller concluded: "One of the reasons we are in this climate crisis is because the average person see elites not playing by the rules imposed by elites on everyone else. And you’re not going to lead when you’re sitting in your SUV being chauffeured every day 12 miles from Gracie Mansion to Park Slope just so you can ride an exercise bike."

De Blasio, after saying he was "just not going to take the bait my friend," launched into a lengthy defense of his trips, saying the SUV is a hybrid and that he has instructed his staff to switch to electric cars.

"Whether I go to the gym does not affect the policies that affect millions of people," de Blasio said.

De Blasio said he does ride the subway "when it makes sense" but said he needs to be driven to Park Slope because of his busy schedule.

"There’s reasons why, because of what I have to do with my time, every single hour of every day, this is the right thing to do," de Blasio said. "I wish my life was exactly like everyone else’s. It’s not for obvious reasons. But again, the issue is not cheap symbolism here. The issue is, are we going to take action, are we actually going to change the way things are done."

You can listen to the full exchange here. It starts around the 13:30 mark.

That "cheap symbolism" defense didn't well with some people, especially after de Blasio made such a big deal out of lighting city hall green last night.

And besides, de Blasio's critics say, isn't the role of public figure to set an example?

"We are really starting to come to grips with this idea that people will have to make personal sacrifices to deal with climate change and adapt to the future," Doug Gordon, a television writer and producer and vocal transit advocate, told Patch. "If the mayor himself can’t do that, it will undermine a lot of his otherwise worthy policy goals."