De Blasio calls his LICH critics ‘imbeciles’
Arrest wasn't publicity stunt, he says
Bill de Blasio scoffed at critics who charged that his high-profile arrest July 10 at a mid-town Manhattan rally to save Long Island College Hospital (LICH) was a publicity stunt designed to help his mayoral campaign.
“There are a lot of imbecile editors,” de Blasio said, referring to news media reports that he allegedly got himself arrested to get attention for his campaign for City hall.
“I have been speaking out on LICH for a long time. Remember, this is our second go-around with LICH closing. Also, I have also used civil disobedience before,” de Blasio told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle during an interview at his downtown Brooklyn campaign headquarters on July 12. He said he peacefully protested a plan by the Bloomberg Administration to close a Park Slope firehouse years ago when he was a councilman serving that community.