New York governor says NYC mayor can be 'displaced'

WASHINGTON

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio could be "displaced" following wide-spread looting overnight in the US's financial capital.

"The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night," Cuomo said during his daily news conference. "It was a disgrace."

Cuomo said de Blasio "underestimates the scope of the problem," as well as its "duration," and said the New York City mayor has not used sufficient numbers of the city's 38,000-member police force "to address the situation."

"It's inarguable that it was not addressed last night," he said.

De Blasio placed the city under an earlier curfew Tuesday after widespread looting erupted with store-fronts smashed in and merchandise stolen by looters in many of the city's neighborhoods. The curfew will go into effect at 8 p.m. and last until 5 a.m. Eastern Time (0900GMT) Wednesday.

The National Guard has yet to be deployed to New York City, Cuomo said, because de Blasio rejected the governor's offer to send the force.

"My option is to displace the mayor of New York City, and bring in the National Guard as the governor in a state of emergency, and basically take over the mayor's job," he said. "You would have to displace the mayor."

Cuomo tempered his comments by saying he does not think "we are at that point," saying if he had to take that action it would be "such a chaotic situation in the midst of an already-chaotic situation I don't think that makes any sense."