Novice city officials botched a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a Canadian couple to see this week’s mayoral inauguration up close — yanking their VIP spots near the City Hall stage at the last moment.
Remarkably, the snafu arose simply because event organizers failed to reserve enough seats for members of the City Council — a known quantity.
Newly-engaged Toronto lovebirds Warren Kinsella and Lisa Kirbie, friends of a Mayor de Blasio associate, said they’d been sitting in the “gold” section for half an hour when a staffer suddenly gave them the boot.
“She said there were City Councilors who needed our seats,” said Kinsella. “We pointed to a row of three nice kids in front of us. ‘Are they City Councilors?'” Kinsella says he asked.
“They’re going to be moved too,” the staffer responded.
Kirbie said their new seats were “somewhere just south of the Canadian border” where they could barely make out the stage.
Having both worked in the liberal political arena, they said they were also stunned by the disorganization that kept hundreds waiting outside in the cold for an hour before being let into City Hall to meet the mayor.
“First day on the job and you’re already pissing off a lot of people who support you guys,” Kinsella says he told the worker who tossed them. “Not good.”
Despite the setbacks, the couple — who got engaged the day before in Times Square — were ecstatic to meet de Blasio.
“Warm and charming, he was delightful — the total opposite of our mayor!” said Kirbie.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has admitted smoking crack during an alcohol-fueled bender.
Kinsella said when de Blasio learned where they were from, he said, “I love Ontario. What a great province!”
He paused then added, “I won’t talk about your mayor.”
De Blasio aides did not immediately respond to a request for comment.