MAGGIE HABERMAN
Courtesy of The New York Post
Mayor Bloomberg is all but certain to miss the Day of Remembrance for Sept. 11 victims' families Saturday, the mayor's aides said yesterday.
Bloomberg's expected no-show comes as his troubled relationship with some victims' relatives has reached a critical point in recent weeks, following the mayor's call for a smaller Ground Zero memorial than most families would like.
Bloomberg spokesman Ed Skyler said it "appears" the mayor won't be on hand for the event at the Javits Center, which is expected to be attended by more than 1,000 victims' relatives and friends, as well as Gov. Pataki and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Skyler said Bloomberg is attending a plaque dedication ceremony for officers who died in the World Trade Center, and the scheduling conflict is "making it difficult" to appear at the Javits event, which is scheduled to last for five hours.
But Bloomberg, who hasn't had a sit-down with representatives of family groups in more than two months, is "open" to a meeting soon, Skyler said.
Some victims' relatives said it was surprising the mayor wasn't going, especially since City Hall has questioned how many people the family groups actually represent.
"I'm surprised he's not coming, [but] I'm not disappointed," said Jack Lynch, whose firefighter son died Sept. 11.
"I think if the invitation was extended to him, you would think he would come. I think much effort was put in by the families to do this [ceremony]."
