The speaker stood behind the lectern, a cadre of aides and commissioners in tow, shifting gamely to Spanish toward the end of her prepared remarks.
Hosts at the Empire State Building muttered into walkie-talkies, plotting how to best shuttle “the talent” paying a visit from City Hall.
And when the hour arrived on Tuesday to face the media throng, gathered on West 34th Street, Chirlane McCray, wife of Mayor Bill de Blasio, stepped to a microphone for an acoustic competition with Midtown Manhattan traffic.
“I’m just going to take questions,” she said over the din.
This was notable for two reasons. With the city’s executive budget set to be unveiled on Thursday, Ms. McCray announced the administration would pour tens of millions of dollars into a series of mental health initiatives, bolstering services for family shelters, runaway youths and survivors of domestic violence, among other efforts. The programs, officials said, represented the largest ever increase in spending on the issue, exceeding $100 million in the two years beginning July 1.
[For more of this story, written by Matt Flegenheimer, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05...tntemail0=y&_r=1]
Comments (0)