A senior aide to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio received sharp criticism for posting a photo to Facebook of his sister holding a sign that read "fuck whiteness."
The photo was uploaded on Monday by de Blasio adviser Lincoln Restler, who said he and his mother "took to the streets to stand in solidarity with immigrant New Yorkers" to celebrate his mother's birthday, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday night.
Restler, who posed in the photo with his mother and sister, deleted the post after some people took offense to it.
One Facebook friend called the sign inappropriate. "There are good White People, and you are not going to make me feel guilty that I am," the man wrote.
A second person wrote: "And you represent our mayors office?"
Restler could not be reached for comment by the Daily News.
A spokesperson for de Blasio said that he was not at first aware of the post, but thought it was inappropriate:
De Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips said the mayor was not initially aware of the posted picture and doesn't believe it's appropriate.
Phillips said Restler's sister was apparently protesting white supremacy. "No doubt the message was inartful and not clear enough in its intent and that's why Lincoln took it off his page," he said.
Restler was spoken to but not sanctioned. "He understands why people took offense to it and it certainly didn't represent his views," Phillips said.
James Gennaro, who works for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D.), slammed Restler's post.
"It seems that to the mayor's senior advisor, hate is okay as long as the right people (or the right racial 'state of mind,' if that's what is meant by "whiteness") is hated," Gennaro wrote.
A spokesperson for Cuomo issued a statement saying that Gennaro's online thoughts are not reflective of the governor.