Bloomberg 'was playing golf on luxury Bermuda course' as emergency workers battled to save victims of Sunday's New York train wreck

New York Mayor is heavily criticized for not being in the city in the aftermath of the Bronx train derailment on Sunday
He was reportedly playing golf on the Atlantic island of Bermuda - where he has a multi-million dollar luxury home
This is the second time in three years that Bloomberg has been outside of New York during a significant incident

PUBLISHED: 20:21 EST, 2 December 2013 | UPDATED: 20:53 EST, 2 December 2013

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Golf Lover: Mayor Michael Bloomberg hits from the eighth tee during the The Barclays golf tournament in Paramus, New Jersey August 25 2010 - The mayor has been criticized for not being in New York to personally deal with the Bronx train crash

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was playing golf in Bermuda when the Metro-North Bronx train derailed yesterday and only left the course hours after the crash which killed four and left more than 60-injured it was reported today.

Bloomberg, 71, who steps down on December 31st after 12-years in power, was spotted on the lavish tropical links of the Mid Ocean golf club as emergency workers rushed to the scene of the crash which occurred at 7.20 am.

The mayor is said to have finished up his round at around 1 pm in Bermuda only to arrive at St. Barnabus Hospital in the Bronx, on Sunday night.

When asked today where he had been all day Sunday, Bloomberg was evasive and shot back, 'You have a real question?'

'When I was informed about the train wreck, I was in constant communications with my commissioners who were there to do the job.

'They're supposed to show up and they're supposed to do it. And that's exactly what they did.'

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Bloomberg was seen in Bermuda on Sunday, not the first time the mayor has been out of the country when a disaster has struck.

Deadly: The Metro-North passenger train lays on it's side after derailing in the Bronx borough of New York, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013 causing the death of four passengers and injuries to more than 60 other commuters

In 2010, Bloomberg was widely criticized for his response to the December 26th blizzard which crippled the Big Apple as he vacationed in Bermuda.

On Sunday, a spokesman for the billionaire businessman refused to talk about his whereabouts as the accident struck, declining to confirm if he was golfing on Bermuda, which is one hour ahead of New York City.

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As he visited St. Barnabus Hospital in the Bronx on Sunday night he was asked directly by reporters to explain his absence.

'What can I do? I’m not a professional firefighter or a police officer,' said Bloomberg.

'There’s nothing I can do. What I can do is make sure that the right people from New York City – our police commissioner, our fire commissioner and our emergency management commissioner – are there and that they have all the resources that they want.'

Rush to help: First responders work the scene of a derailment of a Metro-North passenger train in the Bronx borough of New York Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013. The train derailed on a curved section of track in the Bronx

Bloomberg's first public statements about the deadly train derailment came via his Twitter account at approximately 1.25 pm on Sunday.

New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio did not criticize Mayor Bloomberg in so many words today - but said that he would let New Yorkers know where he would be at weekends unlike the current incumbent

'Thoughts and prayers with those impacted by today's train derailment. If you are looking for a loved one who was on-board, call 311,' said the mayor's perfunctory update.

When asked why it took him so long to send the tweet, Bloomberg said he did not, in fact, send it.

'I didn’t tweet anybody. Maybe my staff did, but rest assured that I did not,' he said.

'When I was informed about the train wreck – I don’t know if it was in minutes, or 20 minutes, half an hour after it happened, and I was in constant communications with my commissioners, who are there to do the job.'

He did not attend the 4.30 pm briefing given by the National Transportation Safety Board - in stark contrast, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and MTA Chief Thomas Prendergast all were at the crash site on Sunday morning and spent the day in news conferences.

New York City Mayor elect Bill de Blasio shot a thinly veiled attack Bloomberg's way today when he claimed he would have run to the accident site himself had he been in office.

'For me, it would be generally-speaking, important to be there,' he said, taking care not to personally criticize his soon-to-be predecessor.

Luxury: The water-front estate that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg owns in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bloomberg has walled off his life in Bermuda from voters in New York, arguing it is none of their business

De Blasio also said he believes it is important for the mayor to disclose exactly where he is, if he is going to leave the city.

'I think it's important to alert the public and the media broadly to my whereabouts,' he said.

President Barack Obama, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and de Blasio all released statements of concern following the derailment, but Bloomberg did not.

Bloomberg's personal trips outside of New York have become controversial for their timing with catastrophe's in the city.

However, billionaire Bloomberg has never bowed to pressure to explain his trips to Bermuda, where he owns a multi-million dollar getaway on the exclusive mid-Atlantic island.

'I don’t think the press should be concerned with the personal life of any of the 250,000 wonderful people that work for this city,' said Bloomberg in December 2001 as he took office.

When he came under huge criticism for being out of town during the late December blizzard of 2010, Bloomberg said that he's in charge 'all the time', regardless of where in the world he might be.

Blizzard: Travelers carry their luggage through a snow bank on 7th Avenue in front of Penn Station after a snow storm in New York December 27, 2010 - the storm wreaked havoc across the city and Mayor Bloomberg was vacationing in Bermuda at the time

When the Wall Street Journal pointed out to Bloomberg that the President has to account for his whereabouts all the time, Bloomberg appeared to disagree.

'The problem is the mayor would have no private life, couldn’t be with his kids when you have the press following you around all the time. President’s job is different,' said Bloomberg in 2001.

Indeed, the train derailment marks the second time that Bloomberg has been out of the city during a major incident.

In addition to the 2010 storm, Bloomberg was in Washington D.C. for the White House correspondents' dinner in May 2010 when a terrorist tried to blow-up Times Square.

http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2013/12/02/bloomberg-in-bermuda-during-derailment/

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dartleyk, austerlitz, United States, 6 minutes ago

the issue is his press office for years has hidden reports that many weekends, that's many, he takes his private plane to his house in bermuda; excuse me, mayor of nyc is not a 40hr mon-fri job; only reason story is out now is some reporters fed up and can't be cut out of the news loop because bloomberg is going, thankfully

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NC, TT-London-NY, 26 minutes ago

How could he possibly predict what was going to happen...the train derailment or prior to that the snow storm. Bermuda is 2 hours away from NYC anyway on a plane. He could have been in some parts of Jersey and still be further away than Bermuda. Give the man a break.

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Skylor, USA, 1 hour ago

Thats those 1% percentiers for U, they come first no matter whats going on

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Asiafan, Bangkok, 1 hour ago

152 people die EVERY DAY in New York, if the mayor needs to be around for each one when should he take a day off? Non-story if ever there was one ......

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Ashby66, Blabbermouth, Fl USA, 1 hour ago

Hold on! I'm one over par.

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kso, Chicago, U.S., 1 hour ago

What a false analogy. Seriously, is this a news site anymore? Or has Fox News purchased it ?

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scott17, Miami, 1 hour ago

what is he supposed to do? Go provide first aid?

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Skylor, USA, 1 hour ago

The governor was there in under an hour to see how bad the accident was. He cared about what was happening

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scott17, Miami, 14 minutes ago

As was indicated, the situation was being handled by the correct authorities. The Governor was in the state. The Mayor was away on an island having a mini-vacation. Should he have teleported to New York?

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lexus23ndc, Washington DC, 1 hour ago

What exactly is the issue here? This is a non-story. What should Bloomberg have done? It's not like he could actually drive the train or had he been in NY the train would not have derailed. Politicians are humans too you know...and they take breaks and vacation!