DUMBO — Mayor Michael Bloomberg is boycotting all media questions about his potential successors' plans, more than a year ahead of the 2013 mayoral race.
Bloomberg told reporters Thursday that he will no longer take questions about proposals floated by the gaggle of contenders hoping to take his place when he leaves office at the end of next year.
"I am not going to spend the next year answering, ‘What do you think of every potential candidate's ideas,' whether they’re good, bad, whether I agree with them or not,” he said at an unrelated press conference in DUMBO, Brooklyn, where he was announced the creation of a new business incubator for growing media and technology firms.
“I’m going to spend my time being mayor, and I’m just not going to take questions on, ‘What do you think about some person’s idea that they may have made seriously or made for political reasons or not,'” Bloomberg said, warning reporters he would refuse to take their questions if they dared to try.
“If that’s not acceptable to any member of the press, I would suggest you just don’t bother to come to the press conferences because I’m not going to call on you," he said.
The comments came after Bloomberg was asked whether he would support a potential “luxury” sales tax on high-end items — an idea floated by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a presumptive mayoral candidate, earlier this week.
Bloomberg is widely expected to endorse Quinn — although he has given some signs in recent weeks that he may be open to someone else.
