He’s the leader of the most important city in the world, and on Tuesday Mayor de Blasio called in sick — with the sniffles.
The mayor canceled three events on his schedule, including a private meeting with Reps. Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn) and Jerry Nadler (D-Manhattan) and a speaking engagement at John Jay College.
He also blew off a meeting with his London counterpart, Boris Johnson, who jetted from Boston to the Big Apple to see de Blasio.
Tuesday was the third day of Johnson’s six-day “trade tour” to the United States and he managed to get in a chat with a New York mayor — former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who tweeted a picture of their meeting at his Midtown office.
De Blasio has a reputation for lateness, but this was the first time veteran City Hall watchers could recall a mayor saying he couldn’t make it in because of a cold.
Bloomberg was known for putting in long hours at City Hall, even while keeping his weekend schedule secret.
“I don’t recall him not going to work,” a source in the former administration told The Post. “I recall him going home early [when he wasn’t feeling well]. He didn’t like staying home.”
His successor hasn’t had the best track record for timely arrivals, missing a moment of silence for the victims of American Airlines Flight 587 and arriving late at numerous other events.
De Blasio was nursing a sore throat when he presented his $77.7 billion preliminary budget for fiscal 2016 on Monday, sipping a cup of herbal tea during the lengthy presentation.
“I’m going to do my best in this presentation,” he said at the time. “Forgive my gravelly voice. I’ve been sick these last few days, but that will not stop me from providing a lot of insight and information here.”
Despite his ailment, de Blasio managed to attend the premiere of PBS’s “The Italian Americans” at NYU on Tuesday night.
Even after speaking about his Italian background for 15 minutes, the mayor never sneezed or coughed. He took a brief pause to clear his throat and carried a cup of tea to and from the lectern before grabbing a seat next to his wife, Chirlane McCray, to watch the 45-minute film.
