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Not a Staycation

There have been some discreet and not so discreet grumblings in Queens about the new mayor taking a nine-day family vacation so early into his first term.

No one doubts the man puts in long days and nights on the job, but his reign falls on the heels of a mayor who prided himself on never having taken a vacation in 12 years — minus those under-the-wire weekends in Bermuda.

And unlike Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose family life is an open book, Michael Bloomberg valued his privacy so greatly it took days for the press to obtain aviation records showing that his plane was parked in Bermuda when the 2010 Christmas blizzard paralyzed the city.

To some observers who use corporate calendars as a guideline, de Blasio hasn’t earned nine days of time off after less than seven months toiling away at City Hall. For many businesses one week off for every 10 weeks worked translates into nearly three days of vacation. Even a more generous policy of one day’s vacation for each month on the job leaves him several days short.

On the other hand, we want our mayors to get some rest so they are up to the daily task of ruling this unruly city. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani recently reminded us he never took more than two days off for an occasional weekend in the Hamptons, but the late Ed Koch took his share of trips.

In fact, he was pictured on the front page of The New York Times riding a camel in Egypt (let’s hope that was not on official business).

The issue for some Queens residents was the timing of the vacation, which coincided with the threatened strike. The walkout would have crippled Queens, with Long Island commuters battling borough residents on clogged roads to reach the city’s easternmost subway lines.

When did he plan it and when did he know it would beat the strike deadline are among the big vacation questions that were tossed about in this transit backwater even though de Blasio had no direct role in the labor talks.

Cuomo brokered a deal at the last minute as head of the MTA, saving the city from chaos and muting the debate over our mayor’s summer break.

De Blasio rightfully postponed his holiday after a Staten Island man died in police custody, but is now sampling the pleasures of Italy with his family. He is footing the travel bills for the de Blasio clan and the city is shelling out just $13,000 to cover the trip for three mayoral aides.

In answer to our next question: Our lanky 6-foot-6 mayor flew in economy class rather than going for the gold by buying first-class tickets.

Arrivederci, Mayor.