De Blasio, Wife Also Go To Pharmacy, Dry Cleaners In Park Slope

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Mayor Bill de Blasio draws scorn from New Yorkers for his near-daily trips in an SUV armada from the Upper East Side to Park Slope just so he can work at his home YMCA, especially as he pushes climate initiatives and tells constituents to limit their carbon footprints.

But de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, go to Park Slope for more than just the gym. McCray shared in an interview with The Cut that she also likes to head back to their home 'hood for other errands.

"We really love our Y — we’ve been going there for decades," she said. "I also go to the dry cleaners and pharmacy there, which is very grounding. Because people know us and we’re not a novelty to them, we don’t get interrupted as often as we might if we went elsewhere."

The gym issue came to a head this summer, when President Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord. "Everyone in their own light has to change their own habits to start protecting the earth," he said at the time.

But the mayor still refused to take the subway to his favorite gym or use one closer to his Upper East Side home at Gracie Mansion.

In her interview, McCray said she enjoys the 20- or 25-minute ride to Park Slope in the mornings.

"Well, you know, it seems like it’s quite a hike from the Upper East Side, but the ride to Park Slope is really just 20, 25 minutes," she told the website. "I take the papers with me or whatever I’m reading to prep for the day. But the ride also gives us time to talk and be together, and it’s nice to go back to the neighborhood."

And after the workout, she some times heads straight back to the mansion or City Hall.

"I do the treadmill, the machine with the arms (I don’t know what you call it), stretching, and some free weights," she said. "If I have meetings right after at City Hall or somewhere else, I’ll bring my clothing with me and change at the gym so I can head straight to my meetings. Or I come back to Gracie and change and do meetings here."

You can read the full interview with McCray here.

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)