NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Former Mayor Bill de Blasio has reportedly signed a lease on a one-bedroom bachelor pad on the Upper West Side, two months after he and his wife Chirlane McCray announced their separation.
The new apartment is in the Lincoln Square neighborhood and close to Columbus Circle, a source told NY1 on Tuesday, without revealing the cost.
De Blasio, 62, and McCray, 68, still own a recently renovated brownstone in Park Slope, and the source said the ex-mayor will continue to go to the YMCA in Park Slope that he famously frequented during his tenure.
The source emphasized that de Blasio will always be a Brooklynite but “wanted to try something new.” He’ll be “splitting time” between the two boroughs and plans on it only being a “temporary thing.”
While it’s unclear what de Blasio is paying for the apartment, the average monthly rent for a Manhattan apartment in July was $5,588, while the median monthly rent was $4,400.
De Blasio and McCray announced their “trial separation” in July, saying they don’t plan to divorce but agreed a separation was necessary after taking stock of their 29-year marriage.
The ex-mayor’s new apartment is not far from where he was spotted making out with a woman last week at the Empire Rooftop bar on West 63rd Street.
It’s unclear who the woman is, but witnesses told the New York Post de Blasio was “touchy-feely” during the outing.