Politics Outweighed a Crisis

Those inclined to think that Mayor de Blasio gets an unduly bad rap among police officers— we sometimes have been among them—may have to reconsider in the wake of the revelation that Thrive NYC, the mental-health program run by his wife, Chirlane McCray, recently withdrew its support for a seminar helping cops and other first-responders spot signs of depression after it learned that one of the sponsors was Blue Lives Matter.

Frank Mascia, the Chief of Staff to City Councilman Joseph Borelli, told the New York Post, which broke the story, that Thrive NYC had committed to sending counselors to offer guidance during a two-day event that had been scheduled to be held Aug. 19 and 26. But after Thrive Deputy Director Sarah Solon saw a flyer indicating the participation of the pro-cop group, she told him, “I wasn’t aware of the logistics” and asked him to omit mentioning it on the flyer. When Mr. Mascia declined to do so, he said Thrive NYC withdrew its participation, forcing Councilman Borelli to postpone the counseling until next month.