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‘The timing of it is strange’: Revelations about angry comment about NYPD by Dr. Barbot comes amid peak of power struggle with de Blasio

By ANNA SANDERS, MICHAEL GARTLAND, ROCCO PARASCANDOLA and THOMAS TRACY
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
MAY 14, 2020 | 7:19 PM

Mayor Bill de Blasio, right, listening to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot, left, speaking at a press conference on Saturday, February 1, 2020 at Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan.(Clarissa Sosin/for New York Daily News)

The coronavirus gloves are off.

A heated comment made nearly two months ago during a feud by two of de Blasio’s top officials has suddenly handed the mayor an opportunity to get rid of a commissioner that sources say is among his least liked.

“I am concerned about it,” Mayor de Blasio said Thursday of a testy exchange that occurred between Health Department Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot and NYPD Chief Terence Monahan in mid-March as the two tussled over a cache of surgical masks at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Barbot, incensed that NYPD cops showed up in a truck on March 18 at a FEMA warehouse to commandeer half a million masks meant for front line hospital workers, told Monahan in a contentious phone call that she didn’t give “two rats’ asses" about the cops, according to sources.

She then apologized to Monahan and the nasty spat appeared forgotten — until it got leaked to the press roughly six weeks later, just as de Blasio’s internal power struggle with Barbot and the Health Department reached its own peak.

“No public servant should ever in any way say anything disrespectful about the men and women of the NYPD," de Blasio said Thursday at a press conference where Barbot’s comments were a main point of discussion. "They protect us and we need to protect them.”

If she did make such a comment, Barbot must apologize to the NYPD right away, he added. The NYPD did get some 250,000 masks a few days later, the agency confirmed.

To add to the political drama, the city’s police unions all lined up with strident statements that screamed for Barbot’s immediate dismissal — a unified reaction that some inside City Hall saw as evidence of a political hit designed to give de Blasio a reason to oust her.

Then-Chief of Patrol Terence Monahan, left, and Mayor Bill de Blasio in Staten Island on April 10, 2017. (Todd Maisel/New York Daily News)

“The timing of it is strange,” said a City Hall councilmember who asked to remain anonymous.

“Stories like this come out when someone is trying to poke holes in a person’s character,” the legislator said, adding that Barbot and her agency were already at odds with the mayor over his decision to pull the new coronavirus contact tracing program from under her watch and hand it over to Mitchell Katz, head of the city’s hospitals.

“Plus, Monahan is a piece of work,” the councilmember noted.

Another city official with inside knowledge of the workings of City Hall said the public flaying of Barbot was tied to a new report in The New York Times ―published late Thursday — that detailed de Blasio’s ongoing anger with Barbot and his newfound preference for Katz.

“It’s pretty clear why they did that,” the source said. “He’s known about (The Times’ story) the past couple of days. Why do this yesterday? The timing is more than suspicious.”

A spokesman for the Health Department confirmed the tiff between Barbot and Monahan late Wednesday night but said the two had squared their differences sometime ago. An NYPD source also said the two mended fences, and noted “the apology seemed sincere.”

Neither the mayor or Police Commissioner Dermot Shea — who also declined to join the union clamor Thursday for Barbot’s firing — commented on why the accusations against her surfaced now.

FILE - Police Commissioner Dermot Shea declined to join the union clamor Thursday for Barbot’s firing. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News)

But City Hall insiders said the palace intrigue was absolutely tied to de Blasio’s frustration with Barbot’s coronavirus responses — and her frustration with his reactions in return.

“City Hall has been doing everything they can to sideline her and weaken her authority. But she has stood firm and backed up the public health experts in her department even when the mayor didn’t like the advice they were giving," said a source familiar with the tension between City Hall and DOH.

"The leaking of this story now is just the latest salvo launched against her.”

A source with knowledge of the call between Barbot and Monahan said the doctor’s response had gotten twisted out of context by police unions.

“Her response was not ‘I don’t give a f--k about cops,’” the source said. “She was trying to say I have other people to worry about. It’s not only just about the cops."

Monahan also gave as good as he got, the law enforcement source added, but noted that narrative didn’t get included in the union reactions.

“That was packaged very nice and very neat to paint somebody anti-cop. They definitely railroaded her," the source said.

Others were not so quick to give Barbot a pass.

“I’m glad that she apologized, that is an unacceptable remark to make,” City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said Thursday during a radio appearance.

An ex-de Blasio administration official also faulted Barbot for her “emotional outburst,” even while noting that in mid-March there was a severe shortage of protective gear for doctors and nurses treating COVID-19 patients. In fact, the NYPD already had 450,000 N-95 masks in its inventory in mid-March, a high-ranking source said. On March 13, with the Police Benevolent Association complaining about lack of protective gear, the city gave the NYPD an additional stockpile of 100,000 surgical masks.

But five days later, on March 18, the NYPD decided it needed more for school safety agents and others, so Monahan asked the Office of Emergency Management for 500,000 more surgical masks. Cops took a truck from the department’s Quartermaster Special and drove to the federal Jersey warehouse to grab a stash -- but nobody told Barbot, who knew doctors, nurses and hospitals were also in dire need of protective gear.

While many city officials were still unclear over the exact details of what happened, they all -- including the mayor -- blasted Sergeants Benevolent Association head Ed Mullins for calling Barbot a “b---h” on social media as he howled for her firing.

Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association.(James Keivom / New York Daily Ne/New York Daily News)

“The reaction by Ed Mullins is completely out of bounds and pretty disgusting,” said Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who also said Barbot’s comment was “foolish and insensitive.”

Williams also questioned the timing of the leak — “It seems to me it may have been a coordinated attack on Dr. Barbot” — but echoed City Comptroller Scott Stringer and other electeds in calling for a united front in trying to get New York through the ongoing coronavirus shut down.

“I just really wish we can all focus on what we need to do to get through this … let’s all work together to move forward,” the public advocate said.

Anna SandersNew York Daily News

Anna Sanders is a City Hall reporter for the New York Daily News. She has previously covered New York City politics for the New York Post and the Staten Island Advance.

Michael GartlandNew York Daily News
CONTACT
Michael Gartland covers the New York City Housing Authority, housing and homelessness. During his 20-year career, he’s covered politics, crime and religion for The Record in NJ, The Post and Courier in SC and Newsday, among others. His work has earned local and national journalism awards. He lives in Upper Manhattan with his wife and two children.

Rocco ParascandolaPolice Bureau Chief
CONTACT
Rocco Parascandola covers the NYPD and criminal justice issues for the New York Daily News, where he has been Police Bureau Chief since 2009. He has won various journalism awards in his 32-year career, which includes stints at New York Newsday and the New York Post. He is the author of "Gunz and God: The Life of an NYPD Undercover."

Thomas TracyNew York Daily News
CONTACT
Born and bred in Brooklyn, crime reporter Thomas Tracy has been covering the NYPD for more than a decade. He joined the Daily News in January 2013.

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