City Hall employees have been “demoralized” by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s refusal to listen to his staff, leading to unclear administrative responses to what is arguably the biggest problem of our time – the coronavirus pandemic and George Floyd’s protest, sources told The Post.
“Many offices are demoralized,” said a source.
“If it were not for the fact that it was difficult to guarantee a salary now, I think more people would head out,” the source added, referring to the departure with two old senior advisors who were suddenly.
Press Secretary Freddi Goldstein and Communications Director Wiley Norvell, who have 13 years of joint relations with Hizzoner, both said Wednesday they resigned but did not move to other jobs.
“In a situation like now with COVID, with George Floyd’s protest, his style must be very grille [to staffers]”The source explained, noting that de Blasio was” mainly bullshit, “and” confident of his own best way to handle things. “
The Post reported this spring that de Blasio micro-managed the city’s coronavirus response and ignored the advice of health experts working for it.
“People feel they cannot do their work and cannot voice their opinions, even internally,” said people in the City Hall.
“He often considers internal disputes as potentially damaging or coming from people who are unable to see the bigger picture.”
“It makes people frustrated and exhausted,” said the insider.
In addition, staff who thought they would go to work for progressive mayors were disappointed when de Blasio supported the NYPD’s use of force during a demonstration last month. Old and old employees wrote open letters to the mayor to express their disappointment and even marched across the Brooklyn Bridge in an unprecedented display of disgust towards the mayor they served.
Another source said, Goldstein, who was promoted to journalist in April 2019 after serving more junior roles in government, was “fed up” with his boss.
“I know he’s really on fire and he’s over him and he’s all over it.
“He hasn’t taken a new job so he tells you everything you need to know,” the source said.
Rebecca Katz, former confidante de Blasio, hit the mayor while hitting his favorite gym in Brooklyn in March just hours before the governor closed the state fitness facility due to a pandemic.
“No current or former staff member has been asked to defend this. “The actions of the Mayor today are unforgivable and careless,” Katz said at the time.
Goldstein was left to try to explain the step of scratching his head, told The Post in a statement in March, “The YMCA has become a big part of his life and his family … it’s clear that will change and before that, the mayor wants to visit a place that makes him stalled for the last. “
Goldstein confirmed to The Post Thursday that he is taking time off after leaving his position next week, but has denied claims that he left because he was fed up with the mayor.
He said this was “a natural time for transition” because “the city is at a turning point, reopened after the crisis.”
“It’s been a few months, and we’ve been here a long time,” he said, referring to himself and Norvell.
Norvell did not reply to messages from The Post about his departure. He also has no other position.
Emma Wolfe, de Blasio’s chief of staff, praised Goldstein’s tenure.
“The Mayor and the whole team have relied on Freddi more than ever for the past four months. He was very ferocious, effective, and well entertained through the toughest days the city had ever faced. “Nothing but admiration and respect for his exceptional service in this crisis,” said Wolfe.
De Blasio has not yet been named Norvell’s successor but Goldstein’s successor is Bill Neidhardt, former campaign spokesman for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
The remaining staff grumbled that de Blasio chose white outsiders, rather than colored people who had worked for his government, to give the stated commitment to racial inclusion.
Asked at a press conference on Thursday about his choice to choose Neidhardt as the next press secretary, de Blasio said vaguely that the former Sanders spokesman was the right person for the high-level job because he provided “a combination of special experiences.”
The mayor also boasted that his administration was the most diverse administration in the history of the city.