New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer said on Monday that fellow Democrat and City Councilman-elect Ruben Diaz Sr. has a “pro-Trump agenda.” In a Post story, Diaz criticized Stringer for not uncovering the New York City Housing Authority’s falsified lead paint inspections despite having conducted nine reports on NYCHA. “It’s really disgraceful that Ruben Diaz Sr. would try to politicize a very serious issue,” Stringer said. “If he was so concerned about NYCHA residents, he should criticize Donald Trump for proposing to cut two-thirds of the capital money that can be used to repair the NYCHA buildings in his district.”
Stringer spoke to City & State on Monday afternoon and his comments echoed those of his spokesman Tyrone Stevens, who told the Post that Diaz was “a pro-Trump, anti-NYCHA, fake Democrat.” According to the Post, none of Stringer’s nine reports or audits over his four-year term had indicated that lead paint testing had lapsed. But Stringer defended his record, saying he has done more audits of NYCHA than all the previous comptrollers combined. “I have rooted out waste and exposed the backlog of repairs,” he said.