Mayor Bill De Blasio Late For Flight 587 Memorial Ceremony, Outrages Families

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was late for the 13th anniversary commemoration ceremony of the crash of Flight 587 in 2001. Families were outraged, when the usually tardy official showed up 19-minutes late, missing the bell toll that rang at 9:16 a.m., the exact time the plane went down in Queens, killing all on board.

What followed was what many saw as a sore excuse, as everyone is quite aware that punctuality is not one of de Blasio’s traits. Staffers blamed heavy fog over the East River and New York Harbor for the Mayor’s delay, however later on, the man himself admitted that he overslept and was “sluggish” after a poor night of sleep.

“I had a rough night,” de Blasio said.

This explanation and the fact that Bill de Blasio was so late for the somber ceremony, didn’t sit well with family members, who attend every year. He was expected to arrive 11-minutes before the ringing of the bell, at 9:05 a.m. and as grief stricken families waited in silence, it became apparent that the Mayor would miss the very important commemoration.

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— Sukanya Krishnan (@SukanyaNYC) November 13, 2014

“I think someone from the mayor’s office should come and apologize,” Karen Tavarez, of the Bronx, told one of the chagrined mayoral aides at the event, according to the New York Daily News. She was told Bill de Blasio would be there “in two minutes,” it was more like 19 and he finally showed up at 9:24 a.m.

The Mayor — who is well known for being late to official events and showing up in a non-apologetic manner — began his remarks, with no mention or apology for being late to the Flight 587 ceremony, but clearly uncomfortable.

However, one of those attending, a woman named Miriam Estrella confronted Bill de Blasio for being late and demanded an explanation from the Mayor.

“I said (to him) it was very disrespectful and he should have at least said sorry,” she told reporters.

The story about the fog delaying the boat carrying de Blasio to the Flight 587 memorial was not all made up. According to officials the 35-minute trip took 50-minutes on Wednesday morning, due to the foggy conditions, but de Blasio gave a lengthier explanation about why he was late.

“The fog was unexpected. It did slow us down… (it was ) absolutely my responsibility to be on time.”

“The folks down there, obviously I have a lot of respect for them, and I wanted to be there with them.”

What do you think about Mayor Bill de Blasio being late for the Flight 587 ceremony?

[Image via Twitter]