De Blasio takes helicopter from Brooklyn to Queens

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - Mayor Bill de Blasio made it to the presidential debate at Hofstra University on time last month thanks to the NYPD who gave him a lift in a police helicopter.

The Mayor and First Lady Chirlane McCray were flown from Prospect Park in Brooklyn to Queens where they got into a car which brought them to the debate in Hempstead, Long Island.

According to a report in the NY Daily News, de Blasio was running late and wanted to avoid rush-hour traffic. 

The mayor is known for being tardy.

A source tells the paper de Blasio was in Brooklyn and not City Hall because he was making fund-raising calls for his re-election from a restaurant or coffee shop in Park Slope. The de Blasio family maintains a home in the neighborhood. The mayor routinely works out in a local gym there and returns to Gracie Mansion in Manhattan.

When asked about the use of a helicopter to travel a relatively short distance and not opting for mass transit instead, the Mayor's office referred questions to the NYPD.

"The security and transportation of the mayor are determined by the NYPD. We do not discuss the specifics of security," said Deputy Commissioner John Miller.