New York, NY – Mayor Bloomberg yesterday had his “Katrina” moment — hailing his Sanitation commissioner amid a torrent of criticism over the department’s bungling of the blizzard cleanup.
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Bloomberg warmly praised Sanitation Department boss John Doherty — and promised him his job was safe — in a moment reminiscent of then-President George W. Bush’s infamous endorsement of FEMA chief Michael Brown in the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when Bush said, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”
Doherty, who appeared on Bloomberg’s WOR-AM radio show, noted that he had been Sanitation commissioner for five years under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, followed by nine so far under Bloomberg.
“And I hope to do another three,” Doherty said, referring to the number of years left on Bloomberg’s current term.
Bloomberg quickly interjected: “You will do another three. That you don’t have to worry about.”
The mayor’s unflinching support for Doherty came after massive outcry over the city’s response to Sunday’s blizzard — which left many streets unplowed for days and wreaked havoc on emergency crews.
There have been allegations that some sanit workers engaged in a slowdown and even ignored some streets at the direction of their bosses, who are angry over upcoming budget cuts.
Doherty himself had only praise for the performance of his department’s workers.
“They did a great job. I’m very proud of them,” Doherty said on the mayor’s radio show.
Doherty even sent a memo to workers saying, “I want to thank each and every one of you for your dedication and endless hours of work during the recent blizzard.”
Bloomberg yesterday conceded that the snowstorm — and his administration’s handling of it — could affect his legacy and reputation as a manager.
The City Council is set to hold hearings on Jan. 10 on the blizzard response.
“OK, so now we’re going to take a reputational hit,” Bloomberg said. “Nobody’s perfect.”
State Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) called for “a formal investigation” of the allegations of a slowdown, saying he had also “heard it from sanitation workers that there was a concerted effort and were told not to move their trucks, to take their time” plowing city streets.
“We want e-mail trails, we want text-messaging, everything that was done prior to the snowstorm to find out exactly what happened,” Smith said.
A Department of Investigation spokesman said, “The DOI will look for any provable incidents of intentional acts.”
I think that Doherty will be quietly forced out in the months ahead, to take the heat off Bloomberg. Some undercover deal will be made to buy out Doherty’s remaining three years. I don’t believe that he will remain in that position too much longer.
Bloomberg is still trying to make light of the issue. The sanitation dept. admitted that they left their plows up and didn’t plow what they were supposed to. A disgrace!
I think it’s common knowledge that all day Shabbos, no one has seen, not even 1 garbage truck doing any snow plowing,
If they were not plowing why were they not picking up Garbage that’s been piled up for the past week.
The same question applies to this Sunday.
I am sure that everyone will notice that this Sunday the Plows are not plowing. At least MOST TRUCKS are not plowing 24/7 on Sunday.
If they are not plowing why are they not picking up the Garbage this Sunday and doing so around the clock 24 hours a day of Sunday.
There is not even one Gargbage truck in sight doing anything at all, all day Friday, All Day Sunday and this forthcoming Sunday.
We need an accounting of exactly how many sanitation workers were working, how many hours on Friday, Shabbos and Sunday and exactly what each one was doing because all Brooklyn observers can testify that we know for sure that non were plowing and non were picking up garbage.
there is a video on youtube titled ”new yorkers fed up with bloomberg”, witch shows a real kiddush hashem throughout this mess. check it out, it will make you feel that much better about being a jew!
We had 3 plows in a row going down our block today at least twice trying to plow snow in the street to melt. Very little was accomplished, other than earning overtime pay.
Where were they when we needed them Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday?
There is no excuse for being New Years Day! If they purposely did not do their job last week, they don’t deserve to get off for the holiday. Please do not forget THEY caused at the very least 2 deaths.
A Department of Investigation spokesman said, “The DOI will look for any provable incidents of intentional acts.”
Just come over to my block or many other blocks and look at the snow that still lies there. Then examine the schedules of the trucks that “plowed” those blocks!
To #3 They finally sent some snow plows down on Coney Island Avenue during shabbos. I guess they want to earn a little extra $$
i just saw 2 men wearing DSNY uniforms with shovels, on avenue L and E 21 shoveling out the ramp. Has this city run out of ideas? I mean, good for them hardworking guys but cant they send a small plow or some other machine instead of 2 guys freezing away in the middle of the night with nothing more than a shovel?
I was livid this morning when I saw a block of a public school closed off to facilitate a perfect clean-up. My son’s yeshiva was in session last week, services 800 children, and was not plowed once until late Wednesday.
I’ve seen countless plow and sand trucks yesterday and today, when they were obviously not needed due to the warm weather. But did you realize how much these workers will earn for working on a holiday weekend? Triple pay! So it could very possible be that they intentionally put off the plowing so they could earn big money this weekend! What a scandal!
All the public schools were cleared of snow. I am near 3 of them.
It’s all about the budget cuts/manpower cuts and a test of wills between the city the unions and the rank and file. Hold back doing your job, upset the citizens, have them scream at the Mayor and the other officials and then go back to work when there is overtime to be made and really stick it to all of us. The perfect storm!