Bloomberg Gets His Photo-Op, Liu Has Budget 'Concerns'

By Elizabeth Benjamin

He had to wait almost two weeks, but Mayor Bloomberg finally wrangled a photo-op - of sorts - out of Comptroller-elect John Liu.

After being snubbed by Liu for a post-Election Day sit-down, the mayor met with the comptroller-to-be for a private coffee klatch at Gracie Mansion earlier today.

The get-together was confirmed to Azi by a Liu spokesperson. Unlike Bloomberg's high-public coffee with Public Advocate-elect Bill de Blasio, reporters were not summoned to view this chat.

But, no matter, the Bloomberg administration was only all too happy to provide photographic evidence that the meeting had indeed taken place.

Liu, who was initially too busy to meet with the mayor and seemed to resent the last-minute Nov. 4 summons from on high, telling a Times reporter: "A long time ago, the people of New York decided there would be no king nor a monarch in New York City."

Today, Liu said he thought meeting with the mayor was "the right thing to do, to really start by talking about some of the issues that are important."

He declined to provide much in the way of details, saying only that the discussion had been "lengthy" and "good" and started out with talk of the budget and the latest round of mid-year cuts.

"The mayor intends to keep the city on track with a balanced budget and as comptroller, I'm going to do everything I can to provide the backup to ensure that the city stays on, stays with a balanced budget," Liu said.

"That may require some changes in the coming months. But we'll...the main thing is that we should work along, that we should work together. There are always concerns. You know, the important thing is that from the outset everybody keeps in mind that the most important people are the people of New York."

Liu said he will have more to say about the budget in the coming months.

(Thanks to DN City Hall Bureau Chief Adam Lisberg who provided these quotes).