Brooklyn state Sen. Kevin Parker’s rage problems have gotten so out of hand that First Lady Chirlane McCray suggested Wednesday he enroll in her Thrive NYC mental-health initiative.
Her comments came one day after the pol told state GOP operative Candice Giove on Twitter, “Kill yourself!” because she called him out for misusing his parking placard and illegally blocking a bike lane.
“I’m gonna personally encourage [Parker] to take our first-aid mental health course,” she said, adding he needs to understand “how hurtful what he said was.”
The eight-hour course helps participants “recognize the early signs and symptoms of mental illness and substance misuse,” according to a city website.
“I think Chirlane makes a really good point — there are things he could do that would help him understand and gain more sensitivity so he won’t do things like this again in the future,” Mayor de Blasio said. “He should address these issues.
“There’s no situation where anyone should joke about suicide. Period.”
But the mayor went easier on Parker when it came to his questionable parking practices.
Hizzoner pledged last year to yank placards from bad actors in a bid to crack down on abusing the perk, but he wouldn’t say whether Parker should lose his special privileges now.
“No one should be parking in a bike lane with a placard. That’s an inappropriate use of a placard,” de Blasio said.
Parker’s placard bears a state seal but says it is “authorized by the NYC DOT.”
City Hall did not respond to specific questions about whether it would yank the city-authorized pass.
De Blasio similarly wouldn’t specifically target Parker for ticketing, but said generally “someone who is using a placard inappropriately deserves a ticket, absolutely.”
Meanwhile, the mayor had a bevy of excuses for why he hasn’t put out a long-overdue report on placard reform — but didn’t say when it might be available.
“You’re dealing here with a lot of traditions that are not good traditions, you’re dealing with a lot of human nature, you know, there’s a lot of creativity out there that’s not appropriate, but it still exists and we’ve gotta figure out a way to really stop it,” he said.
“Different ideas have been run up the flagpole, some of them I’ve sent back and said try again, but what we really want is something we feel will have a lasting impact.”
Additional reporting by Max Jaeger