The activist First Lady Mayor de Blasio promised has not yet emerged onstage — but she may be waiting in the wings.
During the mayor’s first month in office, his wife, Chirlane McCray, has kept a relatively low profile.
She spent a week in California settling her daughter, Chiara, back in college, and aides say she tries to be at the family home in Park Slope, Brooklyn, when son, Dante, 16, gets home from high school every day.
McCray has been seen only occasionally at City Hall, and insiders say she does not attend her husband’s daily morning briefings with top staffers.
The signs of McCray’s influence have been more subtle. She has been helping her husband interview candidates for top jobs in his administration, and she has attended several of his press conferences — sitting in a reserved seat in the front row.
But McCray’s new chief of staff, Rachel Noerdlinger, a former top aide to the Rev. Al Sharpton who will earn an eyebrow-raising $ 170,000, starts Monday. Insiders expect her arrival to herald a more prominent role for the mayor’s wife.
Over the coming weeks, McCray is likely to focus on projects that involve “families, community empowerment and social justice,” a source close to the First Lady said.
The administration will use her talents as a writer in an attempt to create a New York City version of three iconic first ladies — Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama — the source added.
Aides still refuse to say whether McCray will work out of City Hall or Gracie Mansion, where the family intends to live.
The hiring of Noerdlinger suggests that McCray — and her husband — have big ambitions. Noerdlinger brings a Rolodex packed with nationally known politicians and personalities from her 15 years with Sharpton, including a stint as press secretary for his 2004 White House run.
Noerdlinger is “worth every penny,” said Charlie King, a former executive director of the state Democratic Party.
“Everyone would agree that the Rev. Sharpton has gone from a civil rights activist in a section of the city to a world-known leader,” he said. “And Rachel has been the one constant by his side. That speaks volumes about her ability and skills.”
James Keivom/New York Daily News
A source who has worked with Mayor de Blasio says the couple is treading carefully.
King believes McCray is a huge political asset.
“The connection that she has with everyday New Yorkers is remarkable and should be utilized,” he said.
But privately, some veteran politicos think McCray will be walking a fine line — and also question her chief of staff’s salary.
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“It’s almost equal to a deputy mayor. It’s ridiculous,” said a former City Hall staffer and longtime political observer.
Rudy Giuliani’s former wife, Donna Hanover, the last woman to serve as first lady, paid her chief of staff $ 53,580 in 1997, about $ 78,000 in today’s money.
“The question isn’t really about Rachel Noerdlinger, the question is, ‘What is the role of Chirlane?’ ” the former official said. “No one elected Chirlane.”
If McCray does involve herself in policymaking, it would be unprecedented, said Jeanne Zaino, a political science professor at Iona College.
“Particularly for a first-term mayor, you’re treading into potentially dangerous waters,” Zaino said. “She would really be the most powerful first spouse, at least in New York City history, that I can think of.”
A source who has worked with de Blasio says the couple is treading carefully and is well aware of the political risks.
“Bill de Blasio has been in the Clinton White House,” and saw the political fallout when then-First Lady Hillary Clinton took a key role in a botched attempt at health-care reform, the source said.
McCray, 59, may take on a relatively traditional cause like working with children whose parents are in jail, an insider said.
Ken Murray/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Chirlane McCray is likely to focus on family, community empowerment and social justice projects.
When she recently reached out to former First Lady Joyce Dinkins for a lunch date, the talk centered on education, a topic long beloved by first ladies.
“She’s a lovely, warm, intelligent person,” said Dinkins. “We all want to see kids succeed. She’s thinking of programs.”
McCray’s most fundamental role may involve keeping her husband grounded in the progressive values they have shared since they worked as low-level staffers for David Dinkins, when McCray had a nose ring and de Blasio was not far removed from his days as a scruffy, Sandinista-supporting activist.
“She’s the real adviser,” said one source who has worked with both McCray and de Blasio.
“When he says she’s his compass, he means it.”
jfermino@nydailynews.com
MICHAEL SCHWARTZ/DAILY NEWS
RELATED: NYC FIRST LADY CHIRLANE MCCRAY GETS OWN STAFF CHIEF
KEN MURRAY AND AARON SHOWALTER/DAILY NEWS
BY JENNIFER FERMINO
CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
THE ACTIVIST First Lady Mayor de Blasio promised has not yet emerged onstage — but she may be waiting in the wings.
Michael Schwartz /for New York Daily News
McCray’s new chief of staff, Rachel Noerdlinger, is a former top aide to the Rev. Al Sharpton.
During the mayor’s first month in office, his wife, Chirlane McCray, has kept a relatively low profile.
She spent a week in California settling her daughter, Chiara, back in college, and aides say she tries to be at the family home in Park Slope, Brooklyn, when son, Dante, 16, gets home from high school every day.
McCray has been seen only occasionally at City Hall, and insiders say she does not attend her husband’s daily morning briefings with top staffers.
The signs of McCray’s influence have been more subtle. She has been helping her husband interview candidates for top jobs in his administration, and she has attended several of his press conferences — sitting in a reserved seat in the front row.
But McCray’s new chief of staff, Rachel Noerdlinger, a former top aide to the Rev. Al Sharpton who will earn an eyebrow-raising $ 170,000, starts Monday. Insiders expect her arrival to herald a more prominent role for the mayor’s wife.
Over the coming weeks, McCray is likely to focus on projects that involve “families, community empowerment and social justice,” a source close to the First Lady said.
The administration will use her talents as a writer in an attempt to create a New York City version of three iconic first ladies — Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama — the source added.
Aides still refuse to say whether McCray will work out of City Hall or Gracie Mansion, where the family intends to live.
The hiring of Noerdlinger suggests that McCray — and her husband — have big ambitions. Noerdlinger brings a Rolodex packed with nationally known politicians and personalities from her 15 years with Sharpton, including a stint as press secretary for his 2004 White House run.
Noerdlinger is “worth every penny,” said Charlie King, a former executive director of the state Democratic Party.
“Everyone would agree that the Rev. Sharpton has gone from a civil rights activist in a section of the city to a world-known leader,” he said. “And Rachel has been the one constant by his side. That speaks volumes about her ability and skills.”
RELATED: CHIRLANE MCCRAY GETS OK FOR NYC GIG
Susan Watts/New York Daily News
The hiring of Noerdlinger suggests that McCray — and her husband — have big ambitions.
King believes McCray is a huge political asset.
“The connection that she has with everyday New Yorkers is remarkable and should be utilized,” he said.
But privately, some veteran politicos think McCray will be walking a fine line — and also question her chief of staff’s salary.
“It’s almost equal to a deputy mayor. It’s ridiculous,” said a former City Hall staffer and longtime political observer.
Rudy Giuliani’s former wife, Donna Hanover, the last woman to serve as first lady, paid her chief of staff $ 53,580 in 1997, about $ 78,000 in today’s money.
“The question isn’t really about Rachel Noerdlinger, the question is, ‘What is the role of Chirlane?’ ” the former official said. “No one elected Chirlane.”
If McCray does involve herself in policymaking, it would be unprecedented, said Jeanne Zaino, a political science professor at Iona College.
“Particularly for a first-term mayor, you’re treading into potentially dangerous waters,” Zaino said. “She would really be the most powerful first spouse, at least in New York City history, that I can think of.”
A source who has worked with de Blasio says the couple is treading carefully and is well aware of the political risks.
“Bill de Blasio has been in the Clinton White House,” and saw the political fallout when then-First Lady Hillary Clinton took a key role in a botched attempt at health-care reform, the source said.
McCray, 59, may take on a relatively traditional cause like working with children whose parents are in jail, an insider said.
When she recently reached out to former First Lady Joyce Dinkins for a lunch date, the talk centered on education, a topic long beloved by first ladies.
“She’s a lovely, warm, intelligent person,” said Dinkins. “We all want to see kids succeed. She’s thinking of programs.”
McCray’s most fundamental role may involve keeping her husband grounded in the progressive values they have shared since they worked as low-level staffers for David Dinkins, when McCray had a nose ring and de Blasio was not far removed from his days as a scruffy, Sandinista-supporting activist.
“She’s the real adviser,” said one source who has worked with both McCray and de Blasio.
“When he says she’s his compass, he means it.”
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