New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has agreed to meet with members of a homelessness advocacy group following backlash he received for brushing off an activist who confronted him at the gym, The Hill reported on Sunday.
De Blasio, who has promised to deal with homelessness, was approached last Thursday by 72-year-old activist Nathylin Flowers Adesegun while he was doing a workout at the Brooklyn YMCA, but dismissed her by saying "I’m not doing this here," according to footage of the encounter posted on YouTube.
De Blasio then walked away from Flowers Adesegun as his bodyguard stepped in between them while other activists shouted at the mayor: "We need housing for homeless New Yorkers!"
Adesegun is an activist with Vocal-NY, an advocacy group for low-income residents in New York state, according to the Huffington Post.
De Blasio has now invited the Vocal-NY members to City Hall for a meeting, The New York Times reported.
Vocal-NY is requesting that the mayor double the number of units available for homeless people in affordable housing apartments.
De Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips told The New York Times that the gym is "not the right venue" for political discussions, explaining that "people working out at the gym shouldn’t be worried they will be recorded in highly publicized, videotaped political confrontations every morning."
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