Bill de Blasio has sent a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg announcing that he intends to introduce legislation that would require city officials who were arrested outside of New York City to immediately report the arrest to the New York Police Department and the Department of Investigations. Under current law, when they are arrested in the city, their arrest is reported to the Department of Investigations.

“Stephen Goldsmith’s arrest in Washington, DC, reveals an obvious hole in this policy,” writes the public advocate.

And he accuses Mr. Bloomberg of being less than truthful about the whole incident.

“Your claim that Deputy Mayor Goldsmith was ‘leaving to pursue private-sector opportunities in infrastructure finance,’ was a misrepresentation of the facts,” Mr. de Blasio says.  ”While I recognize that both Mr. Goldsmith, and particularly his wife, are entitled to some level of privacy, I cannot accept the leader of the City of New York lying to its citizens.”

Yesterday, Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer delivered the first–and the harshest–statement about the Goldsmith incident, and he has, in general, been more willing to criticize the mayor more than any other major city official, except perhaps for City Comptroller John Liu.

This latest letter from Mr. de Blasio however seems to reveal that he is unwilling to cede the political space entirely to Mr. Stringer.

Full letter below:

Dear Mayor Michael Bloomberg:

Your decision to mislead the public and key figures of your own administration—including NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly—about the circumstances leading to Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith’s resignation is unacceptable.  Given the revelations over the past forty-eight hours, the people of New York City deserve your apology and a thorough accounting.

Your claim that Deputy Mayor Goldsmith was “leaving to pursue private-sector opportunities in infrastructure finance” was a misrepresentation of the facts.  While I recognize that both Mr. Goldsmith, and particularly his wife, are entitled to some level of privacy, I cannot accept the leader of the City of New York lying to its citizens.

Under current law, when City officials are arrested in New York City, their arrest is reported to the Department of Investigation (DOI).  Stephen Goldsmith’s arrest in Washington, DC, reveals an obvious hole in this policy.  I am introducing legislation requiring that the arrests of City officials in jurisdictions outside New York City be immediately reported to the NYPD and the DOI, so that incidents can be properly reviewed and investigated. I urge you to support this measure.

Public servants are rightly held to high standards—and we must live up to them. The people of New York City deserve your honesty and your leadership on this issue.

Sincerely,

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