New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks about Hurricane Arthur鈥檚 impact on the metropolitan area on Thursday, July 3, 2014, at City Hall in New York. Arthur, the first named storm of the Atlantic season, threatened to upend Americans鈥� plans for Friday鈥檚 Independence Day holiday. AP
NEW YORK 鈥� New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has postponed his much-discussed family vacation to Italy by a day.
Mayoral press secretary Phil Walzak says de Blasio moved the nine-day trip鈥檚 departure date from Friday to Saturday 鈥渢o attend to city business.鈥�
The mayor鈥檚 announcement came shortly after he addressed the Thursday death of a man in police custody.
Mayoral aides say de Blasio wanted to stay overnight to consult with officials and community leaders about Eric Garner鈥檚 death.
The Democratic mayor was supposed to leave with his wife and two children Friday night. He鈥檇 previously said he鈥檒l return if there鈥檚 a crisis.
De Blasio faced criticism from political pundits and TV comedians for his decision to travel before a potential Long Island Rail Road strike was averted.
RELATED STORY
NYC mayor heading to Italy for 10-day vacation