The Democratic mayor of New York, who plans to challenge Donald Trump in 2020 too, staged a small protest on Monday inside Trump Tower, the New York tycoon’s iconic skyscraper on 5e Avenue in Manhattan.
Mayor Bill de Blasio took over the interior of the building – a public space open to all – with several dozen supporters, to denounce the carbon footprint of this 58-storey skyscraper, among the most polluting in the American financial capital.
Three weeks after the adoption of a law requiring buildings over 2300 m2 to reduce their emissions by 40% by 2030, the mayor thus intended to pose as a leader in the fight both against global warming and against Donald Trump.
“We passed a law that requires buildings to stop their destructive emissions, and it starts with this building, Trump Tower,” he said, in front of the escalators where Donald Trump had launched his presidential campaign in June. 2015.
According to Mr. de Blasio, the Trump Tower alone could be worth some $500,000 in annual fines to the American president if he does not do what is necessary to comply with the new law.
And all of its eight New York skyscrapers could cost it a total of $ 2.1 million in fines, says the town hall.
“This is my message to President Trump: Don’t mess up our city. […] Respect New Yorkers, follow what’s happening in your hometown, fix your buildings, and while you’re at it, change your policy, and get back into the Paris Agreement [sur le climat]Mr de Blasio added, calling the president a “climate change denier”.
But the mayor struggled to be heard: About 20 supporters of the Republican president had planned a small but boisterous counter-protest, running up and down the escalators holding signs denouncing “the worst mayor [que New York ait jamais eu]or simply “Trump 2020”.
Bill de Blasio said he would announce “this week” whether or not he would enter the arena for the presidency.
Although he’s been testing the waters for months, the polls are very much against him, even among New Yorkers. The last, dating from the beginning of April, indicated that 76% of his constituents did not want to see him embark on this battle.
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