It may be the slowest nine-mile move in history.
The de Blasios are finally moving to Gracie Mansion six months after announcing their decision to give up Park Slope, Brooklyn, for the official mayoral residence on the Upper East Side.
“Today marks a very important day for our family — the move to Gracie Mansion has begun!” First Lady Chirlane McCray said Monday.
The move will take three months to complete, according to a press release. The slow pace will shut the historic mansion to public tours beginning next week and lasting until September.
McCray went online to discuss a few special mementos she has started shifting from Brooklyn, including a rocking chair, a sewing machine and some childhood dolls. The rocking chair was given to Chirlane by her mother-in-law, Maria Wilhelm, when the de Blasios’ daughter, Chiara, now 19, was born.
“Maria spent hours in this chair, rocking and reading to Bill when he was a baby,” Chirlane wrote on her Tumblr page. “Chiara and Dante were also soothed by the rocking and the warmth of listening to stories in my lap.”
She has also moved handmade cloth dolls crafted by her own mother in the likeness of Chirlane and her sisters.
“When I was a little girl, my mother lamented that there were so few Black dolls available for us. She was determined to do something about it,” McCray wrote.
The de Blasios even took part in a Park Slope tradition — leaving unwanted goods on the sidewalk for strangers to take. A piece of paper with the word “FREE” was taped to the family’s fence over the weekend. Discarded items included a wooden bookshelf, a Christmas-tree holder, two candles and two packages of marinara sauce.
“We all do it,” said Sandy Perez, 44, who lives on the block. “It’s like a neighborhood thing; I’m actually trying to get rid of stuff myself.”
Another neighbor, who identified himself only as “Big Al,” said the delayed move wasn’t a surprise to neighbors.
“I know he said it was going to take time. Everything he likes is around here,” Big Al said.