A woman who confronted Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday for his actions after a city police officer was killed now has the attention of a person who wants de Blasio's job.
Vickie Paladino, 63, met the presumptive Republican nominee for mayor, Nicole Malliotakis, Saturday morning in Whitestone.
The Staten Island state assemblywoman seized on the opportunity after video of Paladino's confrontation of de Blasio spread on social media, meeting the Whitestone resident and her son at a local diner to discuss her complaints.
"I saw the video the other day, when she was expressing her frustrations with the way this mayor has managed the city, and he just walked away from her, just like he walked away from the people of New York City," Malliotakis said Saturday.
Paladino had called out de Blasio during his trip to the area Thursday as part of his tour of the borough.
As he wrapped up a press conference, Paladino, a longtime Whitestone resident, slammed the mayor for leaving the city this month just one day after a police officer was targeted and killed in the Bronx. The mayor had left town to participate in a protest rally in Hamburg.
"I want to know why you let your police officers down and our country down by going to Germany and protesting against our country!" Vickie Paladino yelled at de Blasio as he left the press conference.
The mayor had appeared there to announce that the city is putting an additional $16 million into a program to smooth out uneven sidewalks caused by tree roots.
"I had an issue to pick with the mayor, and I had no idea why he was here. To discuss trees and concrete? Really?" Paladino said Saturday. "We've got enough people here in landscaping and in the concrete business to take care of our sidewalks, OK?"
Paladino has become sort of a local celebrity after she shouted down de Blasio, making media appearances, saying she is ready to meet with the mayor any time.