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Mayor Bloomberg's choice for Schools Chancellor, Cathie Black, continues to attract both supporters and opponents. Brooklyn City Councilman Jumaane Williams introduced a resolution Wednesday calling on the state to deny her the appointment, because she doesn't have education credentials. But former mayors Ed Koch, David Dinkins and Rudolph Giuliani sent a letter to the state saying her experience running Hearst Magazines gives her the right managerial experience. Meanwhile, Mayor Bloomberg told reporters to wait a few weeks before interviewing Black.

Black hasn't granted any interviews since being appointed last week.

"We'll get there," Bloomberg said, when asked when she would be available for an interview. "The woman has got to get up to speed. And it's just not fair to have you ask her questions of a technical thing."

Bloomberg went on to say that Black's job would be to manage the system of over one million students and 135,000 employees, while being guided by policy experts.

"I don't know everything about every agency that I supervise," he added. "My job is to pick the right people, get them here, keep them working together, giving them the support they need and then they use their expertise. That's her job in the Department of Education."

The Department of Education did issue a brief statement from Black (see below) in which she referred to her first visit to the agency on Tuesday. She met with outgoing Chancellor Joel Klein and the deputy chancellors. "In the coming days and weeks, we’ll be spending more time together discussing the pressing issues facing our schools and the best way to build on the reforms of the last eight years," she said.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn declined to jump into the controversy over Black's appointment. When asked about the resolution introduced by Councilman Williams, which calls on the state education commissioner to deny Black the necessary waiver, Quinn deferred to process. "I think this is an example of how mayoral control works," she said. "The mayor gets to make the choice of who the schools chancellor is and that is how the process works."

She added that the council has no oversight in the matter.

The mayor submitted his request for Black's waiver on Wednesday. State Education Commissioner David Steiner will appoint a panel to review whether Black's experience in publishing constitutes the kind of "exceptional training and experiences" needed to make up for not having a superintendent's license, graduate work, or three years of teaching.

Complete Statement by Cathie Black, issued by New York City Department of Education:

Yesterday, I had a great first visit to the Department of Education. Joel took me on a tour and introduced me to many of the wonderful staff before I sat down for a meeting with the full Cabinet. We had a great exchange of ideas during that meeting and they could not have been more welcoming. In the coming days and weeks, we’ll be spending more time together discussing the pressing issues facing our schools and the best way to build on the reforms of the last 8 years.

I also want to say a big thank you to the Mayor, former Mayors, countless elected officials, educators, business leaders and friends who have expressed their support both publicly and privately and put such faith in me. I look forward to working with all of them and the talented team Joel has built to continue improving our schools and ensure that every child in this great city has access to quality education.