Mayor Bloomberg showed up to give a speech at Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia's memorial this week, but to call his appearance there respectful would be way off the mark. The two men lost their lives fighting a fire at the partially de-constructed Deutsche Bank building last year. With blame for the incident being thrown all over the city, you'd think that everyone would try to be on their best behavior, especially at the memorial service...but not Mayor Bloomberg.
From The Downtown Express:
One more thing that Bloomberg could have done was to pay attention to the speeches Monday morning in Graffagnino and Beddia’s honor. A female friend of Graffagnino’s family nudged this reporter during the speeches and gestured toward Bloomberg, who sat facing the rows of family members.
“He’s sleeping!” the woman whispered indignantly.
And, indeed, Bloomberg did appear to have briefly dozed off. His chin was angled toward his chest, listing to the side. His eyes were closed. The friend, who did not want to give her name, said Bloomberg had been nodding off throughout the ceremony. A freelance photographer also noticed Bloomberg’s catnap, which she said lasted for about 15 seconds. A round of applause soon startled him to his feet.
Jason Post, a Bloomberg spokesperson, said Bloomberg was not asleep.
“It’s a little strange,” the Graffagnino friend later said of the ceremony, “what with city being at such fault for what happened…. And then to have the mayor sleeping during it, that’s…”
Disrespectful?
“Quite,” she said.
I'd love to see a picture of the Mayor dozing while family and friends paid their respects to Beddia and Graffagnino, but I'll believe a friend of the family over a Bloomberg official any day of the week.
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