Officials Want Mayor Bloomberg To 'Come Clean' About Deputy Mayor's Resignation
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police were taking names and checking credentials outside Mayor Bloomberg's Manhattan townhouse Friday as CBS 2's Marcia Kramer was trying to get answers to questions concerning Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith's resignation.
Bloomberg has apparently been in hiding, cancelling public appearances and even his weekly Friday radio show with John Gambling to duck the scandal.
"I do think that the mayor has made a mistake because he's going to have to answer the question. There's no way out of it at this point. There's no way out of it," Gambling said.
Gambling's criticism was in itself a stunner, because the affable radio host often agrees with the mayor on-air.
"I think at this point the mayor has to say, you know, 'friendship is one thing, but I got to come clean'," Gambling said, voicing the feelings of many in the New York political world who didn't understand why the mayor claimed the controversial Goldsmith was leaving to pursue "private sector opportunities."
In fact, the resignation was because he was arrested in Washington in a domestic violence dispute with his wife.
"It's time for City Hall to come clean and give us a real explanation about the arrest about the circumstances of Mr. Goldsmith's dismissal and to be forthcoming with the public and the press. You cannot stonewall New Yorkers," Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer told Kramer.
Since Goldsmith's duties included overseeing the police and Fire Department and other major agencies, there are also questions about who was in charge when he was in jail for two days.
"Why was the deputy mayor in his residence in Washington, D.C.? City workers have to live in New York City. I'd like someone to explain that to me," Stringer said.
A mayoral spokesman had no comment on anything having to do with affair Goldsmith, saying only "we don't comment on the mayor's schedule."
Public Advocate Bill De Blasio pointed out that under current law, when city officials are arrested, it is reported to the Department of Investigation, but not when the arrest occurs in another jurisdiction.
He's introducing a bill to change that and demanding mayoral support.
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