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De Blasio said the gathering for a rabbi’s funeral Tuesday in Williamsburg, New York, was “absolutely unacceptable” and noted it won’t be tolerated.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt responded to the mayor, accusing him of generalizing the entire Jewish community when only a small segment broke the rules.
New York City Councilman Kalman Yeger echoed similar concerns, saying it was unacceptable of the mayor to condemn an entire community after the Williamsburg funeral incident.
De Blasio on Wednesday said his tweets reflected his frustration at the moment.
“People’s lives were in danger before my eyes, and I was not going to tolerate it,” he told reporters. “I regret if the way I said it in any way gave people a feeling of being treated the wrong way, that was not my intention. It was said with love, but it was tough love — it was anger and frustration.”
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said the Brooklyn gathering put police officers and others in danger.
“We cannot have people unnecessarily being exposed to a disease that is having catastrophic effects on our membership and really New Yorkers as a whole,” he said at a news conference.
Religious events and funerals remain a challenge, NYPD has said
CNN has reached out to several Jewish organizations in Williamsburg to get more information about the funeral and for comment on de Blasio’s remarks.
The New York Police Department had officers near the corner of Bedford Avenue and Rutledge Street, where the crowd gathered, Lt. John Grimpel confirmed to CNN. As of 11 p.m., the NYPD had no record of summonses or arrests from this incident.
Previously, the NYPD has said that some officers have encountered challenges at religious events and funerals, noting efforts “were geared toward maintaining the dignity of those events while insisting on dispersal of groups to ensure social distancing.”
The mayor also tweeted about difficulties surrounding funerals.
CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz and Jake Tapper contributed to this report.
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