And apparently it worked.

Via NY Post:

The city’s new Clergy Advisory Council will be spearheaded by a top ally of the Rev. Al Sharpton, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday.

The Rev. Michael Walrond Jr., who serves as Ministers Division director for Sharpton’s National Action Network, will be responsible for maintaining “a direct line of communication between religious leaders and City Hall,” according to the Mayor’s Office.

De Blasio’s announcement comes less than two weeks after black church leaders slammed him for ignoring their concerns and began mounting efforts to draft Brooklyn Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to challenge him for mayor in 2017.

“We’ve been trying to meet with [de Blasio] for a long time,” said the Rev. Patrick H. Young, who leads the 600-member First Baptist Church in East Elmhurst. “He reaches out when he wants something to support his agenda. He doesn’t have a need to reach out to the church other than that.”

Young praised Walrond and commended de Blasio on the choice, but worries the advisory council will turn out to be a “rubber stamp” devised only as a ploy to maintain legitimacy among blacks, who supported de Blasio in droves during his mayoral run.

“If the mayor thinks he’s going to put up a coalition to oppose the coalition that wants someone else to run for mayor, he has another thought coming,” Young added.