NYC Mayor de Blasio's Italian vacation amid looming commuter rail strike questioned

New York City's tabloid newspapers next week are easy to imagine: a photo of a nightmarish traffic jam caused by a strike at the nation's largest commuter railroad juxtaposed with a shot of Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH'-zee-oh) vacationing on an Italian beach.

The Democratic mayor appears set to depart Friday even in the face of a looming Long Island Rail Road strike despite the potentially damaging political optics.

If the strike happens Sunday amid a feud over pay, pensions and health care it could paralyze portions of the nation's largest city.

The mayor says he'll return from his 10-day trip if a crisis arises but signals he believes his team could manage the ordeal without him.

Former Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani says the mayor has to be there when an emergency happens.