The NYT puts its finger on why this foot of snow is such a big deal. It's hitting political hot spots.
Subheadline: "Plenty of New York City mayors have faced blowback over their handling of blizzards. In several appearances this week, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has sought to show he is prepared."
I guess his opponents are hoping for a snow nightmare.
As for Mamdani, he's getting out in front of Snowmageddon and endeavoring to seem lovable:Stay warm, stay safe New York. pic.twitter.com/aFbDsOkzLn
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) January 18, 2026
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99 comments:
I don't think it will stick, what with all that warmth of collectivism.
Everyone wants New Yorkers to suffer.
Schnowdenfreude is nothing compared to the nightmare his administration has in store for them.
Snowpocalypse II: The Freezening.
Toxic Whiteness everywhere!!!
Remember when a foot of snow wasn't such a big deal?
That was before socialism, but even the Russians figured out ways to deal with snow.
As much as I dislike the guy and New York politics, I do not hope for failure, because "Never let a crisis go to waste." is a dinner bell of those hungry for power.
@Eva Marie, a great majority of the world's problems result because natural selection is prevented from working its fungal magic on idiocy.
The warmth of collectivism will require 'volunteer' labor from every NYC resident to each shovel their own street.
Who cares from "lovable"? Can he get the streets cleared is the issue.
Nobody is from NYC anymore. They don’t know that it’s possible to clear the streets in a timely manner. It will have no effect on Madmani’s prospects. CC, JSM
I’d schadenboner but I may be swept away in the cyclones here…
Also, the same illegals that rent scooters and identities to do DoorDash will rent snowblowers and trucks with plows to clear snow. The magic of Libertarianism For Some. CC, JSM
No matter how bad things work out in New York during his administration, supporters will claim it was not as bad as predicted and everything is fine.
Second term, then governor. Potential vice president.
Like approval of gay marriage, they have a foot in the door.
The real test, and the one that the Zohan will certainly fail, will be his deals for public employee labor unions.
with this male Islamic hollywood rap artist type with no experience- it's all about the charm.
The "warmth of collectivism" first emergency.
I guess his opponents are expecting a snow nightmare.
@Althouse, fixed it for you. No sane person thinks he’s up to the job.
You can't clear some areas of the city before others, that creates inequality. To be true to his values, he must clear all areas simultaneously or let the snow melt on its own.
Thankfully he was born outside of the U.S., because the guy has a very easy charm and would be dangerous at the national level.
It may be a Snowpocalypse, but no snow day for the school kids. Mamdani says the students will either attend in person or remotely. I'm sure this decision will go over well.
Only among the stupid
This will go as well as michelles menu plans
Hard to imagine he's had enough time to eff up the snow plowing department. Give him a year.
I'm hearing "Code Blue is in effect, meaning government employees will canvas the neighborhoods looking for vulnerable neighbors to exploit for blue votes".
Fortunately for Mamdani, he hasn't been mayor long enough to destroy the Department of Sanitation, so there's a good chance the team he inherited will do fine.
Next year may be a different story.
He's about as lovable as tertiary syphilis. Not quite but almost.
A snowpocalypse ended the mayoral career of Michael Bilandic in Chicago when he flailed helplessly against the forces of nature in 1979. But in that instance the election was a few months after the blizzard and everyone could still remember the incompetence. Mamdani has 4 years to go, so nobody will remember if he snafus the snowfall of 2026.
Well there could groundhog revenge like with wilhelm
Yukon Cornelius said...
It may be a Snowpocalypse, but no snow day for the school kids. Mamdani says the students will either attend in person or remotely. I'm sure this decision will go over well.
1/23/26, 11:25 AM
Good. People need to stop treating every little snowfall like an excuse to cancel school. Going online keeps the schedule intact, but it would be nice if that could be optimized for phones.
What NYC - and, by extension Mamdingle - needs is a size 17, Florsheim ensconced foot up their poopchute.
They might like that (see don lemon)
it's Israel's fault! WINTER, is ALWAYS, the Jooze fault!
Just ask rcocean!
or just look around!
Severe winter weather in the Gaza Strip has brought new serious challenges to communities where more than two years of conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead, injured or displaced, and shattered essential infrastructure.
https://www.icrc.org/en/article/gaza-severe-winter-conditions-compound-humanitarian-crisis-displaced-palestinians
Gaza Notifications
@gazanotice
🚨Winter in Gaza: Israel is deliberately using the cold as a weapon, destroying homes and forcing families to survive for more than two years in torn tents, left to face freezing temperatures, flooding rains, and brutal storms with no shelter or protection.
https://x.com/gazanotice/status/2003468974776865163
Omg. I prompted "Write up a Woke Way of handling a snow emergency for a major metropolitan city"
"To handle a 2026 snow emergency through a lens of equity, inclusion, and social justice, a Mayor of a major metropolis would shift the focus from simple "plowing" to "mobility justice."
1. Equity-First Plowing (The "Feminist Snow Removal" Model)
Traditional snow removal prioritizes major arteries leading to the financial district. A progressive approach prioritizes "trip-chaining" routes often used by caregivers, women, and low-income workers.
Prioritize Pedestrians: Plow sidewalks, bike lanes, and bus stops simultaneously with main roads to ensure those without cars are not stranded [1].
Socio-Economic Routing: Deploy equipment first to neighborhoods with the highest density of essential workers and lowest rates of vehicle ownership to prevent economic disenfranchisement [2].
Here are some ways a Mayor of a major metropolis could handle a snow emergency with a focus on equity, inclusion, and community well-being: ...
(It goes on and on like that for 4 more bullet points...)
2. Community Involvement and Support
3. Accessible Information and Outreach
4. Prioritizing Vulnerable Populations
5. Considering Environmental Impact
gilbar said...
Severe winter weather in the Gaza Strip has brought new serious challenges to communities where more than two years of conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead, injured or displaced, and shattered essential infrastructure.
https://www.icrc.org/en/article/gaza-severe-winter-conditions-compound-humanitarian-crisis-displaced-palestinians
1/23/26, 11:49 AM
Did you forget to put in a post from X or something? Because there are a lot of people who still respect the Red Cross, and they'll be ready to call Israel a state of genocidal psychopaths after reading something like that, if not attack their citizens outright.
Its a press release probably reprinted from gaza housing ministry
In 1979 Chicago mayor Michael Bilandic's horrible response to a large snowstorm cost him reelection. He was ridiculed and rightly so. Cars were snowed in and then plows could not access the streets to clear them. What a mess. It led to Jane Byrn becoming Chicago's first female mayor.
"Yukon Cornelius said...
It may be a Snowpocalypse, but no snow day for the school kids. Mamdani says the students will either attend in person or remotely. I'm sure this decision will go over well."
Remotely? NY Governor Kathy Horchul black kids don't even know what a computer is.
Chicagoans know that plowing the snow is essential to keeping your job as Mayor. Just ask Mike Bilandic. It was shocking that the Machine lost in 1979 because of his failure to clear the streets.
They just stuffed the ballots more readily that year
"Maynard said...
Chicagoans know that plowing the snow is essential to keeping your job as Mayor. Just ask Mike Bilandic. It was shocking that the Machine lost in 1979 because of his failure to clear the streets."
Jane Byrn, who beat Bilandic, was a Machine muckity muck and a friend of Mayor Daley so not that surprising.
Canada Goose burkas are so 2018.
Thank god they spent so much money on solar, wind and green grif-CONSULTING!
Things are so bad in our cities that I would almost vote for an old-fashioned Chicago Machine style Democrat right now.
But only if they came right out and said exactly what they'd do:
1. Hand out city jobs in proportion to ethnic group votes. But require people to actually do the jobs. Except for a skim, of no more than 1-2%, for some connected favorites.
2. Stay in office, not through vote fraud, but via a network of Democrat ward committees that make sure point 1 happens for you and your relatives. Thus overwhelming any chance the Republicans have of getting elected: why would you vote for someone who can't even figure out how to deliver city services within a 4-year term?
3. No vote fraud for national elections either. If you want an R president, that's fine. We can work with them. But it is so easy to just punch that straight-ticket hole in your ballot....
4. Violent crime gets suppressed. By violent methods. The cops will be your neighbors and family members, so why wouldn't you support them? We will also tell the judges they need to start finding for the police again. Those are some of the politically-connected jobs in Point 1, so they will play ball.
5. We mean "public" violent crime. If an otherwise nonviolent organized crime group has to take care of business once in a while, we have more important things to worry about. Those cases may not get a lot of our precious police resources to solve. But fellas, get back to the old "take him for a ride" methods, not drive-bys. Also, if you help with keeping violent crime down in your hoods, that's good for everyone.
Maybe one of the parties that emerges from the ashes of our current 2-party system will try this. I hope so. CC, JSM
Most employee evaluations these days seem to function on a 1 through 5-point grading criteria, with a "3" representing that they "meet expectations". From public safety to snow plowing to ethics, it is shocking how well they have trained the electorate to consider that simply "meeting expectation" is somehow an acceptable standard...that doing merely what we expect of them with our money is praiseworthy.
“I guess his opponents are hoping for a snow nightmare.”
So are his supporters. One more thing to blame on global warming and Trump (oh, they’ll find a way.) NYC is doomed.
In Milwaukee our garbage trucks double as snow plays. Depending on the timing of the snow and the amount, they will forego garbage pick-up. They could eliminate this conflict by outsourcing garbage services, but that would make too much sense and save too much money.
Would be a shame if the snow removal crews went on strike today.
Remember when a foot of snow wasn't such a big deal?
It happened three or four times a winter where I grew up. The county had road graders and snowplows, but not many, and we were usually on our own for a few days out in the sticks where we lived. Sometimes there was someone with his own plow who would clear a single track along the county road to the pavement, but typically it was icy ruts passable only by 4WD until the grader turned up later in the week. Nobody seemed much bothered by it, but my parents would always check in on the old widow lady next door to ensure she had enough groceries and firewood, and if the wood bin was looking low, I was "voluntold" to go over there and ensure that she had enough to ride out the storm in comfort.
Do people in New York really need to be told how to deal with a few inches of snow? No wonder Mamdani was elected….
If an otherwise nonviolent organized crime group has to take care of business once in a while, we have more important things to worry about. Those cases may not get a lot of our precious police resources to solve. But fellas, get back to the old "take him for a ride" methods, not drive-bys. Also, if you help with keeping violent crime down in your hoods, that's good for everyone.
I had a friend who managed a pizza place in "Little Italy" in the North End of Boston during the 70's and 80's. He used to say a pretty young woman in a miniskirt, carrying a thousand dollars in cash in her hand, could walk alone through those streets unmolested, day or night. Troublemakers and petty criminals got one warning, then a thorough beating, then simply disappeared and were never seen again. Step 1 was sufficient for most of them to make themselves scarce. I suspect that the Irish cops did not feel unduly pressured to solve the crime when Step 2 or Step 3 happened.
Government is mostly indistinguishable from the Mafia anyway. Might as well take it straight up, and get all the benefits along with the extortion.
Breezy said, "Do people in New York really need to be told how to deal with a few inches of snow? No wonder Mamdani was elected…."
"The campaign... hosted a series of events — a citywide scavenger hunt, a soccer tournament at Coney Island — that opponents laughed off as gimmicks but attracted thousands of supporters. Many later became part of an unmatched army of volunteers...."
Bingo. These people are mental infants. They are psychological children who should be made to wear big apple crash helmets so the rest of can spot them from afar.
JSM, I can't say I agree, but I can agree that might be a step towards improvement.
The novel version of "The Godfather" mentioned topics that the movie script couldn't accommodate. One of these was the almost complete absence of petty crime in areas where mob members lived.
Places like marbella featured in gomez jurado and markland are like that for the international set
In the western Philadelphia suburb where we lived from the early oughts until 2016, our house was at the bottom of a long, pretty steep hill; the road curved just in front of our house, which, luckily, was on the uphill side. The house across the street from us, on the downhill side of the road, lost its mailbox at least once a year, thanks to people's not being able to stick the curve at the bottom of the hill. It shouldn't have been as hilarious as it was, but... it was. That neighbor was a full-fledged Karen.
The only time we didn't laugh about it, secretly or openly, was when someone REALLY lost control and ended up almost to the front of their house (these were acre lots, so that was a long way from the road).
It's twice so far this year; we'll see what the weekend brings. Our old neighbors keep us posted. Hilly places are tough in deep snow.
[shrug] I wish NYC the best; cold is no joke, especially if you're not on good terms with your neighbors, which I imagine is the case for most New Yorkers despite what Friends and Seinfeld and a million movies tell us.
If the media won’t hold him accountable, as they most certainly won’t, how is it a “test”?
And it isn’t 1979 anymore, folks. Party first and absolutely.
“The novel version of "The Godfather" mentioned topics that the movie script couldn't accommodate. One of these was the almost complete absence of petty crime in areas where mob members lived.”
Sorry, this is propaganda bs. We had several friends who owned businesses in the Mafia controlled area of NYC. The constant demand for protection money, the threats, the admonishments to look the other way when terrible crimes were committed. They lived with constant low grade fear. Day in and day out. As far as petty crime is concerned, we lived in Mafia free Phoenix AZ. Also petty crime free.
An glimpse of Russia in the Winter. spoiler: welcome to hell.
A Glimpse of Russia in the Winter. Spoiler, welcome to hell.
testing
Wait until we get that massive FEMA response to help the states .
So, let it snow, let it snow, let them sow.
But of course, no "Baby, It's Cold Outside".
Never let a crisis go to waste. Mamdani is likely trying to figure out how to use the storm to give himself "temporary" emergency powers to confiscate property in one way or another.
"Wait until we get that massive FEMA response to help the states ."
Should assistance be denied to Democrats, the way Joe Biden's FEMA denied assistance to Trump supporters?
Yes or no.
No. Let Democrats be known for the total assholes they are.
“Should assistance be denied to Democrats, the way Joe Biden's FEMA denied assistance to Trump supporters?”
The response could be golden and the Democrats will complain anyway.
One of my favorite words applies: Schadenfreude !
Curious George,
Jane and her husband Jay were a couple of drunks whom the media loved at first. I lived in Boston for a year after her election and the media hated them with an intense passion usually reserved for Republicans.
She ran against the Machine when the CHicago media was also against the Machine. After election, she worked with the Democrat Machine and the press hated her. Ironic since Jay Mullen was a former media guy.
Note that I came back to Chicago after a year and found an amazing change in media attitude about Jane Byrne,
It's hard to seem loveable when you most common facial expression is the duper's delight smile held for seconds at a time.
"No. Let Democrats be known for the total assholes they are."
"The response could be golden and the Democrats will complain anyway."
I'm curious what kaka's response might be- should Democrats be ignored the way Republicans were or should they be provided assistance they denied others?
Those are the options here.
How do liberals and environmentalists get rid of snow? You can't dump the snow into open water bodies because of pollutants. The level of pollution in snow is pretty damn high. And it's not okay to deicing chemicals because chlor-sodium compounds cause soil pollution. And what about the emissions from the snow removal equipment itself? So it's a bit of a conundrum. Anyways, the libs in Boston would sometimes use beet juice and sand and it really was worthless.
"How do liberals and environmentalists get rid of snow?"
Private jets.
Wait till they start flying airplanes into buildings again. Wonder how Mamdani is going to handle his own people destroying the city.
The folks (pre-Obama meaning) favored CBS (Channel 2) for 70s-80s Chicago local news. John Drummond, Pam Zekman, "Walter Jacobson's Perspective". "Give 'em hell, Walter!"
Spiros
humans with show shovels.
but the snow shovels must be made from scratch. all natural green ingredients.
Jane Byrne "resided" at the Cabrini-Green public housing project for a few weeks in 1981, of course with her taxpayer-funded security detail.
Should assistance be denied to Democrats, the way Joe Biden's FEMA denied assistance to Trump supporters?
No. Because karma is a bitch.
If you must delay large-scale firings at FEMA to ensure it can carry out disaster relief, maybe those employees shouldn't be fired at all.
FEMA Halts terminations as Massive Storm About to Hit US ~ Blomberg
According to the NYT, NYC gets a foot of snow in a storm every few years. That doesn't sound like something where FEMA should be needed.
New York City is expecting a progressive, collective snow job. The more you know.
But will he keep the trains running on time?
"That doesn't sound like something where FEMA should be needed."
Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas, Atlanta, Ohio, North Carolina .......
California, Nevada, Florida, Utah, Oregon, Maryland ......
A [Catastrophic] [Anthropogenic] Climate Arrhythmia (CACA) in the rotting apple, perhaps. A governing dysphoria is expected during the transition.
FEMA: Our Mission
FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during and after disasters, and our core values and goals help us achieve it.
Is getting a foot of snow in a storm every few years a disaster? Discuss.
A foot of snow in Atlanta would prompt a mass suicide event.
Mamdani could screw the pooch royally and fuck this up and the media will still blame it on Trump.
I put new tires expecting a couple busy days of stranded Georgians.
I don't know the state of NYC's snow removal prowess these days but they used to be very good. I drove into NYC three days after the Blizzard of 96 and the streets were in good shape and that was a monster storm.
Tomorrow, where I live in Crossville, TN, we are expecting 10 hours of freezing rain between about 6 PM Saturday and 4 AM Sunday before it turns back into rain. I give the utility credit-they have been busy all week long doing what preparation they can do- I see the crews everywhere paring back tree limbs but it won't matter if we get ice accumulations of more than about 3/16s of an inch- that will bring down lots of power lines and more than few old style telephone poles. Got the generator and enough gas to run it for about 4 days without having to leave the house but if I lose power I won't be able to keep the house at more than about 50-60 F- more than enough to stop the pipes from freezing but won't be very much fun other than for napping.
Disparity, John Drummond - yes!!! CC, JSM
How do liberals and environmentalists get rid of snow?
They wish it away because liberals and environmentalists have rarely, if ever, shoveled snow themselves. They hire immigrants to do that.
I made a relative fortune shoveling out cars in the 1967 snow storm in Chicago. That was an amazing week when all cars were rear wheel drive and got stuck in a Friday night storm.
"They hire immigrants to do that."
You misspelled "illegal aliens".
Just sayin'.
“I guess his opponents are hoping for a snow nightmare.”
Snow-mageddon
If a foot of snow is anything more than a slow morning or a day off for some people, then the city is a failure.
Well Mamdani and all his rich supporters can shovel snow and spread salt... oh, wait, I am sure none of them would dare touch a shovel. And with shortfall of $$$... well let's see how it works out.
The point of electing people to responsible positions is to take care of basic and extraordinary things. May the new Mayor be up to the challenge. For his city's residents sake.
YouTube: I see Althouse exploding trees and I raise what appears to be a real Somali woman cringing nonstop during a press conference Mama Mia. I couldn’t watch until the end, it’s so sad.
He already flunked the Free Buses starting Inauguration Day test.
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