Spotted out and about before 8 a.m. — Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio.
A day after getting flack for blaming his lateness at a campaign event on an interruption to his sleep cycle, the chipper mayoral front-runner joked about his daily habits at a campaign stop in Brooklyn.
“Yes I am a morning person, see?” de Blasio said outside a subway station in Bay Ridge. “I just don’t like being one. But I can do it.”
On Saturday, de Blasio was an hour late to an 11:30 a.m. campaign event – a delay he attributed to an early-morning phone call throwing off his sleep.
He even called the phenomenon “divided sleep.”
His GOP rival Joe Lhota said the odd explanation raised questions about de Blasio’s ability to be a 24/7 mayor, which de Blasio quickly rebuffed.
“You know I think the simple answer is, I’d rather stay up all night but I don’t get to, so I have to wake up early in the morning to do my job and I’m happy to do it,” he said.
Asked by reporters whether he was cradling a double espresso in his hand, de Blasio said, “This is just a hot chocolate. I already had my double espresso, which is why I can form full sentences and paragraphs with you right now.”
When questions persisted about whether he would hold morning meetings at City Hall as mayor and at what time, de Blasio got more serious.
“It’s getting a little silly,” he said of the inquiries. “We’re going to do, if the people choose me, we’re going to do whatever it takes. Obviously you have to start early in the morning.”
De Blasio added, “My earliest time at the Park Slope Y is 5:21 am. So I’m going to challenge all the members of the media one of these days to meet me at the Park Slope Y at 5:21 am.”
“Let’s see who wants to take me up on that challenge,” he said.