We won’t wait. We’ll do it now:
Posted: January 3rd, 2014 | Filed under: The Weather, Things That Make You Go "Oy"And at one point, barraged by questions about storm preparation, Mr. de Blasio lapsed into a soliloquy with an almost existential tone. “We know that the number of inches may go up or may go down,” he said. “We know the winds may be stronger or weaker. But we know we have to be ready.”
Though depending on the weather for a poll boost seems like a bad idea:
Posted: September 13th, 2011 | Filed under: Survey Says!/La Encuesta Dice!, The WeatherA Quinnipiac University poll out Monday found Bloomberg’s feeble approval rating jumped 11 points from a July survey to 54% — his highest score since the bungled December blizzard.
While Anderson Cooper and everyone else were waiting down in Lower Manhattan for the financial capital of the world to be wiped away, the real story may have been in Staten Island, where the City’s hurricane disaster plan seems to have fallen short:
Posted: August 30th, 2011 | Filed under: See, The Thing Is Was . . ., Staten Island, The WeatherFirefighters in inflatable rafts saved 61 adults and three babies from the floodwaters, leading Mayor Bloomberg to praise the rescue effort.
But locals were fuming over what they found when they returned: flooded living rooms, destroyed cars and water animals in the streets.
They said they would have moved their valuables to higher ground and driven their cars out of the area if they thought they could be in danger.
“Somebody dropped the ball,” said [a 26-year-old resident] of Bulls Head, S.I., whose car and basement was damaged by flash flooding.
“[The water] was 5 feet right there. And this was the safe zone.”
No one knows, or is saying, exactly when the administration understood that Irene was going to weaken, and despite what many are calling “universal praise” for the actions undertaken to Save Lives!, the overreaction seems to have worked (“He wanted to go from bozo of the blizzard to hero of the hurricane”) — at least until the next big storm, when people will probably not pay as much attention to the words of caution.
Posted: August 29th, 2011 | Filed under: Fear Mongering, The Weather“Bloomberg, he did O.K., but he made people crazy and spend a lot of money,” said [. . .] a building superintendent on 44th Drive in Long Island City, Queens, just outside the Zone A low-lying evacuation area. He said he had spent $200 on supplies on Friday and $67 on a fill-up.
“Water, batteries, tuna fish, other food in a can,” he said. “For what? Believe me, people spent a lot of money on this. The tuna fish and the other food, O.K., we’re going to eat it. I don’t need all this water and batteries, though.”
. . . and to those of you who continue to grumble and naysay, know that you are only alive because Howard Wolfson was in town to advise:
Posted: August 28th, 2011 | Filed under: I Call Bullshit, The WeatherMr. Bloomberg seemed palpably relieved on Sunday, as the storm quickly passed over the city. He acknowledged that he had barely slept on Saturday night, checking the weather outside his window at midnight, 3 a.m. and again at 6 a.m.
He was characteristically blunt and unapologetic when asked about the evacuation order and those who questioned it. “They should just look in the mirror. They are alive today, whether because of it or in spite of it,” he said. “We’re just not going to take any risk with people’s lives.”
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