Mayor de Blasio bullied business groups to stay out of the Uber debate in the weeks leading up to the City Council vote this week on controversial bills to curtail new licenses for e-hail cars.
Deputy Mayor Tony Shorris called Partnership for New York City’s Kathy Wylde and the Association for a Better New York’s Bill Rudin to alert them to the bills — and to threaten them to stay on the sidelines, sources said.
“Their message is, ‘This isn’t your fight. Stay out of this and we’re not going to bother you,’ ” said a political source familiar with the outreach. The implication was that if the groups defied the mayor, City Hall would “limit your business opportunities,” he said.
“It’s a heads-up that this is coming up and this isn’t something you should be involved in,” the source added.
Wylde, whose members include CEOs of companies that employ over 1 million New Yorkers, said the city shouldn’t be “trying to shut down innovative businesses” like Uber and Lyft.
“We do think the city should not be taking a knee-jerk reaction against these companies simply because they run afoul of historic interests,” said Wylde.
A spokeswoman for Rudin, whose group includes Uber, declined to comment.
De Blasio spokesman Wiley Norvell said Shorris briefed business leaders on both bills, but denied they were lobbying.
Frustrated yellow-cab fleet owners have been pressuring the de Blasio administration to curb e-hail companies and protect their medallions, which are plummeting in value.
The industry was one of the first major groups to back de Blasio during his nascent mayoral run, pouring $550,000 into his coffers since January 2013. They also kicked in $70,000 to his inauguration committee and dropped $10,000 into his universal pre-K fund.
But until now they had little to show for their support.
“The yellows have been getting progressively more furious at de Blasio for what they see as betrayal,” said one industry source. “Fleet owners went to Shorris or de Blasio, said: You’re really f–king with us. We’re there for you. Do the right thing by us — put a halt to Uber.”