NYC Mayor Bill Deblasio continues to blame everyone but himself for the chaos on the roads last month when the city was hit with a 5 inch snowstorm.
First he said it was “lousy forecasting”.
The he said it was “bad luck” — not poor planning — that was mostly to blame for the city’s inept response to the relatively small snowstorm that practically paralyzed the Big Apple.
Then he blamed it on “the leaves on the trees”.
Now, he decided to fire someone in response. But it wasn’t the Sanitation Commissioner, that should likely be held responsible for the snow removal. Sanitation failed miserably and left all five boroughs paralyzed in standstill traffic. Many sat in traffic for hours to drive three miles.
Instead, the Office of Emergency Management Commissioner seems to be taking the blame.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, NYC OEM Commissioner Joseph Esposito was fired by a Deputy Mayor. Esposito was reportedly on vacation when the storm hit. The WSJ reports that the Mayor won’t return his calls since the Deputy mayor fired him.
Other reports state that City Hall has refused comment, while others say that Esposito is at his desk working.
On Friday, a deputy mayor told @JoeEspoNYC to resign from his post at OEM over the November snow storm, people familiar with the matter said. When he refused, she said he was fired.
But the commissioner still hasn’t heard anything from @NYCMayor: https://t.co/s3xcsBsaAM
— katie honan (@katie_honan) December 3, 2018
City Hall says that it does not have anything to share “at this point” on @JoeEspoNYC and whether or not he’s been fired.
Esposito is at his desk right now working, he told my colleague @willieneuman
— J. David Goodman (@jdavidgoodman) December 3, 2018
Despite report of his firing, Joe Esposito, OEM chief, told me this a.m. that he’s still on the job: “I’m in the office now.”
— William Neuman (@willieneuman) December 3, 2018
The snowstorm that recently hit #NYC was an act of G-d. Asking Joe Esposito to resign would be a man made disaster. https://t.co/CgKxVBqufS
— Barry Grodenchik (@BarryGrodenchik) December 3, 2018
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No, no, no, no, no!!! What could this driver have done differently? #newyork #snow #snowday #driving
(Charles Shaprio – YWN)
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One Response
Phew! The mayor almost had to shoulder some of the responsibility! Good thing he found someone else to pass the buck to.
C’mon Mr. Mayor! Own up to it, apologize, and promise to do better next time. Is it that hard? Or is there an election on the horizon?