bill de blasio nyc mayor sleep 2020
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (center) waits in line to vote outside an early voting site in Brooklyn of New York, the United States, Oct. 27, 2020.
Xinhua/Wang Ying via Getty Images
  • New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio offered reflections on what he learned about himself in 2020 when asked by reporters at a Wednesday press conference.
  • “I learned the value of sleep,” the mayor said.
  • Local tabloids have chronicled his pre-COVID jaunts to the Park Slope YMCA in Brooklyn and his midday strolls during the pandemic.
  • The Big Apple has suffered more than 24,000 deaths from COVID-19 so far, with an average of more than 700 deaths per day at the peak in early April.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio offered his thoughts on what a tumultuous 2020 has taught him during a press conference on Wednesday.

“I learned the value of sleep,” the mayor said when asked what he learned about himself during the trying year, according to a reporter for the local NY1 TV station. 

 

The Big Apple was the hardest hit US city at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic. More than 24,000 people have lost their lives to COVID-19 in the city so far, with an average of more than 700 deaths per day at the peak in early April.

De Blasio has taken heat over his two terms for being somewhat of an absentee mayor, with local tabloids chronicling his pre-COVID jaunts to the Park Slope YMCA in Brooklyn and his midday strolls through Prospect Park along with other scenic areas during the pandemic.

He also came under criticism for his messaging at the outset of the pandemic, initially telling constituents to keep going about their daily lives while some of his top staffers were advising him to act swiftly to mitigate disaster.

At his Wednesday press conference, de Blasio reflected on how he communicated to the public about the virus, and how his job "requires so much detail work."

"In the beginning I was trying to communicate, I now realize I wish I had been able to communicate this better ... this job requires so much detail work," the mayor said.

With the 2021 mayoral election approaching as de Blasio nears his term limit, Hizzoner said his successor will be "in for a very intense education" in a job that can "make it hard to think," according to Katie Honan of the Wall Street Journal.

"You have to stop, breathe, and really take a moment to think," de Blasio said.

Read the original article on Business Insider