One of the leading candidates for mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, was arrested Wednesday morning at a Manhattan rally to stop the possible closure of the debt-ridden Long Island College Hospital.
De Blasio, the current city public advocate, was at the protest — planned by the New York State Nurses Association and 1199SEIU healthcare workers union — alongside his wife, activist Chirlane McCray. Two other candidates, former congressman Anthony Weiner and city comptroller John Liu, were also present. Neither were arrested.
The hospital, in Brooklyn's Cobble Hill neighborhood, is managed by SUNY Downstate, which has argued since February that the hospital is not financially stable. De Blasio attended a rally on behalf of the hospital workers earlier this week.
De Blasio's staff tweeted about his arrest as the candidate was carried off by police officers in plastic handcuffs.