As low as our opinion of him is, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s performance at Wednesday’s memorial ceremony was still a shock.
A year after a truck-driving terrorist took eight lives by the West Side Highway, the mayor gave a speech praising the first responders — but forgot to read the victims’ names, instead moving to shake hands with gathered families of the departed.Yes, he did his best to make good once someone pointed out his mistake. But his demeanor was disengaged for much of the ceremony.
A friend of victim Nicholas Cleves’ mom told The Post: “I didn’t hear a thing about the lives, the people. Nicholas Cleves was born and bred in New York. He loved this city. His mother’s destroyed by this.”
More: “I thought that was what this was about, that this is a moment where we would say … ‘You know, we care, we really do care,’ but I didn’t get the feeling. [The mayor] said this attack has been in our hearts for a year … Really, do you believe that?”
Another victim’s mom missed the ceremony because she had to travel — and City Hall didn’t contact her about it until 4 p.m. the day before. The mayor can blame bad staff work, but the boss sets the priorities.
It’s an open secret that de Blasio is obsessed with his post-mayoral career, viewing even the most mundane local issues with an eye on how he can use it to boost his national progressive cachet.
But he surely owes it to the people of this city to at least hide his indifference at a solemn event — rather than stomping on the feelings he’s supposed to share.