Bloomberg Takes Blame for Response to Snowstorm

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

Source: NY Times

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg accepted responsibility Wednesday for the city’s response to a crippling snowstorm, pledging to have every street plowed by morning and then to figure out why his administration’s cleanup efforts were inadequate.

Speaking at a hardware store in the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx, Mr. Bloomberg said he was “extremely dissatisfied” with the performance of the city’s emergency management system. He said the response was “a lot worse” than after other recent snowstorms and was not as efficient as “the city has a right to expect.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/30/nyregion/30snow.html?hp

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Well, duh Mr. Mike.... don't cut sanitation services and expect this not to happen.

[valerief]

1. Yeah, unemployed sanitation workers don't sanitate. nt

[hlthe2b]

2. At least he is present & doing something../ taking some responsibility

That arrogant NJ Gov. Christie ought to be permanently run out of town on a rail.

[wilt the stilt]

3. Cold Weather and snow

are for little people who had to stay and work.

[CreekDog]

9. well he canceled that rail project

self-serving come to think of it! :P

[Bluestar]

4. Ah, the Bloomberg is off the rose n/t

[Possumpoint]

5. Doesn't Look Good

That the streets in front of his residence and place of work are cleared to bare pavement across all paved lanes compared to the rest of the city, especially Brooklyn.

[snappyturtle]

6. I remember a certain Chicago mayor who essentially 'lost his job'

due to a snow storm.

edit: http://www.weathernotebook.org/transcripts/1999/03/02.html

[Smarmie Doofus]

7. NYC too. Lindsay'69. *Almost*.

He had a weirdly charmed life... for a while anyway.

DEMs and GOP both nominated ultra RWers . JVL ran as an indy (liberal) and won w. about 40%.

But boy.... were they pissed about the snow ... esp in the boros, where the working class lives/lived.

Lindsay got much worse press than Bloomberg ( his misfortune: he didn't OWN it) but was an infinitely better administrator than Bloomberg.

And, frankly, much more intelligent. What kind of an idiot would name a Cathy Black as Schools Chancellor?

Good god.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

12. And oddly enough, this storm

broke the record of the one that cost Lindsey Gracie Mansion... I think it will, ahem, snowball. Hopefully enough to derail any White House ideas this clown has

[tpsbmam]

13. The snowstorm didn't "cost Lindsay Gracie Mansion"

(Correct spelling is Lindsay.)

He didn't run again for a 3rd term. He was a firm believer in term limits and and felt that 2 terms as mayor was all anyone should have. He was very happy to see term limits law go into effect for NY offices -- he wasn't around to witness Bloomberg blowing the whole term limits thing off.

[jumptheshadow]

8. This was a dangerous situation

I have never seen such an inept response, even though this was a particularly difficult snowstorm, with high winds and timed disastrously on a holiday weekend.

Many of the streets in my neighborhood were just plowed today. Huge piles of snow blocked intersections. Meanwhile, neighbors could not get to medical appointments. Emergency vehicles had a difficult time maneuvering to calls in those "tertiary" streets. Many elderly people didn't have access to basic food and medical supplies. Holiday travelers had a hellish time getting home. You risked injury just getting to work. NYC prides itself on its response to emergencies, but it just seemed like nobody was in charge this week.

[CreekDog]

10. NYC is amazing and I love it

I'm really baffled that they seemed so inept in this case.

I imagine part of the problem is that coming 1 day after Christmas, they simply weren't mobilized the way they normally could be and once the snow started falling, there was no way to get critical staff to all the places they needed to be.

[tpsbmam]

14. NYC is always a nightmare after huge storms IMO.

OMG, the times I walked to work climbing HUGE mounds of "snow" at crosswalks....oy! I used to walk 4 miles to work every morning. I could do it after a storm if I walked over to 5th Ave and walked up it with no breaks in the street/relatively few mounds to climb. I say "snow," because by then they were mounds of blackish, hard crap that used to look like snow!

It was awful for the elderly or anyone with a physical challenge that impaired walking. I use a wheelchair or walker to get around these days. I can't even imagine trying to do so around NYC after a snowstorm -- hard enough even when it hasn't snowed. It scared me watching elderly trying to get around after a storm -- I'd help people over mounds of snow, worried the whole time they'd fall and break something. I did get one old woman who lived alone in my building for awhile to promise to call me if she needed anything at those times. I checked in with her regularly anyway but she could barely get around on dry pavement -- NYC after a snowstorm would have been impossible, but she'd have tried if she needed something.

[mascarax]

11. He's probably livid Cory Booker is making him look bad!

I saw a "come be mayor of NY" on Booker's Twitter feed.

[timo]

15. this looks really bad

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/nyc_plow_drivers_admit_slow_re.html


says some union workers lagged on purpose...not cool, and I read else where a baby died because of this, very uncool!!