As if it were a final note in a campaign overfilled with personal revelations, Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio's daughter has opened up about her past issues with substance abuse. In a YouTube video posted on Christmas Eve, she discussed her struggles with clinical depression and how she coped by drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. Although it's been noted that his 19-year-old daughter Chiara needed space to recover, the timing of the revelation was criticized as an attempt to bury the story. It's common to bury sensitive or damaging stories by releasing them on holidays or Fridays, as Eliot Spitzer also did by announcing his split from his wife the other day. In the end, de Blasio stood in proud defense of his daughter, with the support of the White House.
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Want A Minute With The Next Mayor? Imagine for a moment that you’ve got a minute of Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio's time. What should be his top priorities as the next mayor? We're crowdsourcing your responses on our website — so sound off and let your voice be heard. #deblasio
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>Declaring that “there is no higher calling than protecting children,” Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio named a state official to head the city’s Administration for Children's Services.
Gladys Carrión, who is currently commissioner of the Office of Children and Family Services, will now oversee a city agency that has faced scrutiny in recent years after shocking child abuse deaths. This included the case of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown and 4-year-old Marchella Pierce. The Brooklyn girls were brutalized and killed by family members while “under the agency’s watch,” Newsday recalls.
Carrión, 62, is a Bronx native who held positions at various nonprofits and in the David Dinkins administration. As head of the state Office of Children and Family Services, she has been credited with overseeing Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s initiative calling for the transition of city youth from upstate juvenile justice facilities to ones “closer to home.”
De Blasio announced the appointment at the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side, founded in 1893 “to care for the poor.”
NEW FROM THE GOTHAM GAZETTE — Is New York's Women's Equality Act Dead? Nearly a year after Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced the Women’s Equality Act in a momentous speech, it has virtually disappeared from the political conversation. And its opponents have declared it all but defeated. By David Howard King. READ MORE.
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Want A Minute With The Next Mayor? Imagine for a moment that you’ve got a minute of Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio's time. What should be his top priorities as the next mayor? We're crowdsourcing your responses on our website — so sound off and let your voice be heard. #deblasio
Other Stories We're Following
Critic's Notebook: New Oversight Needed For Towers (NY Times)
Mayor Bloomberg Makes 1st Appearance On SNL [VIDEO] (am New York)
Why Universal Pre-K Could Benefit All Families (The Atlantic Cities)
Bloomberg Touts Achievements Of Affordable Housing Plan (NY 1)
De Blasio Says Interfaith Fight Not Over (Capital)
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Poll: High Expectations For de Blasio (Wall Street Journal)
Interfaith To Be 11th City Hospital To Close Since 2007 (Crain's)
In its final meeting of the year, the City Council bid a long farewell to eight-year Speaker Christine Quinn. For three hours, almost every Council member took the time to thank the speaker for her service. Quinn, who lost her Democratic primary bid for mayor, heard even some of her sharpest critics praise her achievements. The meeting also saw votes on 26 bills. The council passed a compromise bill banning foam food containers that Mayor Michael Bloomberg argued were virtually impossible to recycle. The Dart Corporation that produces the material has until Jan. 1, 2015, to prove the material can be recycled and resold in a viable way or else the ban will go into effect. The body also passed a bill that bans e-cigarettes wherever regular cigarettes are currently forbidden.
NEW FROM THE GOTHAM GAZETTE — The Longest, Darkest Night Of The Year: On December 21st, the longest night of the year, communities across America observe Homeless Memorial Day. Though it's been held for 25 years, it's usually not covered by the media. If ever it deserves coverage and thought, though, it's this year in New York City. Commentary by Jeff Foreman. READ MORE.
Want A Minute With The Next Mayor? Imagine for a moment that you’ve got a minute of Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio's time. What should be his top priorities as the next mayor? We're crowdsourcing your responses on our website — so sound off and let your voice be heard. #deblasio
Other Stories We're Following
Silver Wants Plan to Share Student Data With Company Put on Hold (Daily News)
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City Job Recovery Not Quite as Strong as Bloomberg Claims (NY Times)
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De Blasio Launches Star-Studded Pre-K Campaign (Wall Street Journal)
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Assemblyman Accused of Sexual Harassment by Aides (Albany Times Union)
Council Spokesman Moving to REBNY (NY Observer)
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