New York mayor Bill de Blasio defended his daily gas guzzling SUV trips to the YMCA while pitching his plan to cut carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030.
Speaking at an Earth Day press conference yesterday, the mayor said “classic” glass and steel skyscrapers “have no place in our city or our Earth anymore.”
“We are going to introduce legislation to ban the classic glass and steel skyscrapers that have contributed so much to global warming,” de Blasio said. “They have no place in our city or our Earth anymore.”
During MSNBC’s Morning Joe yesterday, de Blasio explained that his daily 11 mile SUV trips from Gracie Mansion to the Brooklyn YMCA were “just part of my life.”
“What sort of environmentally responsible example are you setting there, taking this drive in a car as opposed to going to someplace nearby?” asked MSNBC political analyst Jonathan Lemire.
“I have a security detail that follows me in their cars either way. So, let’s make clear, this is just a part of my life,” de Blasio responded during the Earth Day appearance.“I come from that neighborhood in Brooklyn. That’s my home. I go there on a regular basis to stay connected to where I come from and not be in a bubble that I think for a lot of politicians is a huge problem.”
The New York Post points out that while there are no YMCA’s nearby the Mayor’s mansion, but there are four other gyms within one mile of his residence.
