Top aide to New York City's first lady takes leave amid family woes
By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - A top aide to the wife of Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday she is taking an unpaid leave of absence amid controversy over the legal troubles of her boyfriend and teenage son. Rachel Noerdlinger, chief of staff to the city's first lady Chirlane McCray, said she would use the time to devote full attention to her 17-year-old son, Khari, who was arrested on Friday on a misdemeanor trespassing charge. "I can handle criticism and scrutiny of me, even when it's mean-spirited — that comes with the territory when you take on the status quo," Noerdlinger said in a statement. "But increasingly, my son has been subjected to attacks that have nothing to do with the public interest, and everything to do with derailing this administration," she said. Khari Noerdlinger was arrested in a Manhattan building lobby after failing to show identification to police responding to reports of loitering at the site, Newsday reported. Noerdlinger herself became the target of criticism in September, when local media reported that she was living in Edgewater, New Jersey, with boyfriend Hassaun McFarlan, who had been convicted of manslaughter and drug trafficking. McFarlan also wrote disparaging messages about police on his Facebook page, DNAinfo.com first reported. News of Noerdlinger's relationship with McFarlan led to calls by the New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association for her resignation or dismissal. “Should City Hall decide to fill what is a very questionable position, we hope they can find someone who appreciates the critical role that police have in making this city a viable place to live and who will not bring an anti-police bias to the table,” said PBA president Patrick Lynch in a statement. De Blasio has said little about the controversy surrounding Noerdlinger, who was a longtime adviser to the Rev. Al Sharpton. The mayor's office released a statement about the leave of absence, saying Noerdlinger was a great asset to the administration, but offered few other details. (Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Gunna Dickson)
