Mayor de Blasio pushes for raise in NYC’s minimum wage

Feb. 10, 2014: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio delivers his State of the City address at LaGuardia Community College in the Queens borough of New York. (ap)

Mayor de Blasio dropped another hot political potato in Gov. Cuomo’s lap Monday by announcing he’ll ask Albany for permission to raise the minimum wage for city businesses.

“We want to ensure that New Yorkers aren’t relegated to the ranks of the poor when putting in a full week’s work,” de Blasio said in his first State of the City speech in a packed auditorium at La Guardia Community College in Queens.

“Next week, we will ask Albany to give New York City the power to raise the minimum wage in all five boroughs.”

Cuomo and state leaders reached a deal last year to hike the minimum wage statewide from $7.25 to $8 an hour as of Jan. 1. It is scheduled to jump to $8.75 at the end of the year and $9 by the end of 2015.

Although legislation was introduced in the state Senate last week to allow municipalities to set their own wage floors, some officials are saying last year’s deal was meant to serve as the final word.

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