The Cranky Voter

Blizzard hits NYC and all you can hear are complaints

So the snow falls near Christmas and you should be able to hear jingle bells or Christmas cheer, whatever that sounds like .. but no not in New York City. Have you ever heard the snow fall? Just sat there and listen to the almost invisible kissing of a snowflake hitting the ground. The wind blowing flakes from over here to over there. No one out in the cold and all of the birds and animals hiding somewhere .. where do the birds hide when it snows? The color disappears and is replaced with the hues of gray. Everything covered with white muting the colors and making everything seem so peaceful and warm even as the temperature drops to freeze everything with an icy chill and helps create the bursting snow coming from the sky. Bursting like pieces of popcorn shaped as a flake.

The sounds of winter are all around us but what we do not expect to hear are the screams of blame. You wouldn’t think that the first major storm of the winter would be the downfall of the mayor who would be king, but Bloomberg is taking the brunt of the storm even if the last snow flake has fallen and the storm has passed. Bloomberg has taken a very casual attitude about providing a service to New Yorkers that they have come to expect. New York City doesn’t get very many big storms, they are not like Buffalo or Cleveland, thank goodness. However, usually New York City seems to be much more prepared for the snow, but not this time. This time the city seemed to be woefully unprepared for dealing with the snow storm and the cleaning up of the aftermath and the sound we hear is the sound of blame.

Perhaps the blame is justified. In a city where you pay one of the highest tax rates in the country, one has the right to expect that certain basic city services are provided. Why else do you pay such high taxes? Why live in New York City if you can’t rely on the city to provide such basic services. The city has always been reliable in the past and has always cleaned the snow off the streets in winter snow storms so what is so different about this snow storm? At least that is what everyone tends to believe when questioned about why they are so upset. However, every snow storm is quite special in it’s own way. Every snow cleaning operation has it’s own challenges and special problems. Yet there seem to be so many more emotional complaints and screams of frustration this time.

Could it be that the mayor is trying to save money in tough economic times? That he has fired too many sanitation workers and just doesn’t have the man power to clean the snow off the streets? That this snow was so much worse than any other snow storm in the past and has created such a larger problem for New York? Perhaps the city started too late and they were not prepared? Or maybe our memories of past snow storms have a nature all of their own and we don’t remember how really bad they were. The fact is that none of that matters all that much. I will leave it to the weathermen and Union leaders to provide the analysis of the quantity and quality of the snow this storm compared to the snow all of the other storms and the men available to clean it all. What I am concerned with is the leadership skills of the mayor of New York, or should we say the lack thereof.

In any type of an emergency it is the primary role of the Mayor, Governor or President to provide leadership, to describe a vision and move us toward that vision. One could consider a snow storm, of a blizzard magnitude, a weather crisis that has to be handled properly. The crisis is not so apparent while the snow is falling but after the snow has finished falling. The cleaning up and digging out creates the crisis that requires leadership and it is apparent that most people in New York City have found that the mayor of New York City has failed to provide the leadership necessary to help us survive this crisis. Is that a bit of an exaggeration? Is survival the proper word to use? Well to hear many people’s complaints, there are people’s lives at stake as a result of the poor snow response of the city.

The most prominent complainer is the Brooklyn Boro President Marty Markowitz. A man who symbolizes Brooklyn not only by his office, but his accent and his mannerisms and even his look. Mr. Markowitz is Brooklyn personified. He stood there in front of one camera or another and demanded an answer. Representing his constituents he demanded to know what was the problem. Why had his streets not been plowed? Why was every street in Manhattan plowed multiple times and yet there were streets in Brooklyn that still had untouched snow in the center of the street? Who is responsible, he screams so that all of Brooklyn can hear him, for the city being so unprepared for this Snow Storm? Why is the city still buried beneath so much snow?

Well, don’t have a heart attack Marty, there is no ambulance in all of Brooklyn that can get you to a hospital in time. So, I don’t know if the city was unprepared or if the city loves Manhattan and could care less about Brooklyn. I do know that I don’t care about Brooklyn but I love Manhattan, sorry Marty. However, even though the problem might be a lack of preparedness, the bigger problem is a lack of leadership from a person that thinks he is God’s gift to New York City. No I am not talking about Marty, although he is certain some kind of gift. There was a huge failure from a man who wanted a third term as mayor and has talked about running for President of the United States. Even if it is not his fault that the city was unprepared, which it might have been, I think it was, and even if the circumstances of the storm were unique and unprecedented, the fact is that he is responsible. He could have had a better cleanup plan. He could have gotten everyone to work harder and longer. He could have started the cleanup earlier. He could have and really should have provided leadership during the crisis.

The mayor stood up at the press conference, well one of several press conferences and he addressed the situation in a very casual manner. He stated multiple times that there were streets that have not been plowed and that the city will get to them when they get to them. He had his Commissioner of Sanitation stand up and explain that some streets were just more important than others. That they would get to your street eventually. The problem was perception and an attitude of arrogance and antipathy toward the questions being asked. His job whether he likes it or not is to make his city feel like he is in charge. To make everyone understand that he is working as hard as he possibly can to solve the problem, whatever the problem is. It is his job to talk to Mr. Brooklyn, Marty Markowitz, and make sure that he is on the same team, to make sure that he knows that Brooklyn is important and that city services are being applied to Brooklyn as quickly as possible. The Mayor’s responsibility is to make sure that Marty Markowitz, never gets on TV to blast the city and the mayor. It is Bloomberg’s job to make people feel like New Yorkers. To make everyone feel that they are all into this together and they survived a huge storm and that they should all pull together and hang on through the cleanup. A leader leads, not by banning cigarette smoking or by making restaurants list fat content and calories, but a leader leads when it is important to lead. A leader doesn’t sound half asleep or overly calm when people can’t get out of their house because the street hasn’t been plowed. A leader doesn’t tell people to go see a show when there are people trying to get to work but can’t because the subway is still not working. A leader doesn’t get angry at reporters for asking obvious questions. A leader leads. A leader makes the decisions it takes to solve the problem. A leader reassures a worried populace that help is on the way. A leader makes sure that all citizens feel equally supported whether they live in Manhattan or Brooklyn. A leader asks for the resignation of a Sanitation Chief that couldn’t clean the city. A leader grabs a shovel and starts shoveling just like Rudy did in front of Gracie Mansion when he was confronted with a snow storm in New York City. A leader doesn’t allow such an embarrassing situation to exist so that those people in Buffalo and Cleveland finally have a right to laugh at New York City. I mean it is just a little snow folks.

For someone who wants to be President of the United States. For someone who changed the law to be mayor for a third term. For someone who is so proud of his skills. Mr Bloomberg you failed as a leader during this snow storm and the crisis that ensued. You failed at bringing the team together and making sure all of the boro presidents were on your side. Your Sanitation Commissioner was inappropriate and should resign. Your attitude is not becoming of the office of the mayor of New York and you should be ashamed of yourself. Now stand up and lead or get the heck out of the way, and most importantly clean the blasted streets. All of them regardless of what boro they reside in.

Now that might sound a little Cranky, and well maybe it is, However that is because I am the Cranky Voter!