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| Every year, New York City sets the stage for hundreds of high-profile events hosted by society’s elite.
But recently, Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, have been absent from all such events — and people are noticing. According to a recent New York Magazine article, the de Blasios were noticeably not present at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute gala in early May, leaving many of the city’s wealthiest residents feeling snubbed. De Blasio, now in his second year as mayor, has given his constituents plenty of reasons to be skeptical of him. The man eats pizza with a fork and knife, for crying out loud. But this latest slight goes beyond pizza politics, and is a blatant display of apathy toward some of the city’s most influential people: its philanthropists. In stark contrast, predecessors Michael Bloomberg and his girlfriend Diana Taylor had been regulars on the black-tie circuit. It’s especially odd, considering that McCray chairs the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, which helps raise funds from such philanthropists to further the city’s social causes. “[The de Blasios] obviously do not relate to New Yorkers who socially network to support charities. They have made themselves socially irrelevant. It is a major shortcoming not to mingle with all classes,” event publicist Peggy Siegal explained, adding that de Blasio seems to possess a “disdain for the striving, successful New Yorkers and I have been told by insiders that he always listens to his wife, who also has disdain for the accomplished.” This isn’t the first time the city’s more affluent residents have felt the cold shoulder from their decidedly populist mayor. In the midst of January 2014’s infamous Polar Vortex, many Upper East Side residents noticed their streets weren’t being plowed very often, New York Magazine reports. As far as the mayor’s no-shows at high-profile events go, aides to de Blasio and his wife say the two have limited time to attend such functions, with other commitments often taking priority. However, they try to attend as many events as their schedules allow. Are the de Blasios truly as busy as they say they are, or are they simply uninterested with appealing to the city’s elite class? You be the judge. |
