Trouble the Mayor - Bloomberg

 I just finished watching the movie "Trouble the Water" which features intense home video shot by residents of New Orleans' Ninth Ward before, during and after Hurricane Katrina. Even though Katrina was far more devastating, it's easy to see similarities between the indifference and disinterest shown by President George Bush during Katrina and New York mayor Mike Bloomberg during the Blizzard of 2010.

 What both weather disasters reveal is that most politicians, especially ones who lean to the right like Bush and Bloomberg, are indifferent towards the needs of poor people, which often includes minorities. Bush commended Naval officers for refusing to allow desperate New Orleans citizens to stay at empty and deserted old naval barracks that were destined for demolition. Bush, ever eager to continue invading Iraq and promoting war in Afghanistan, refused to commit troops to help the citizens of Louisiana wage a far more urgent war against Katrina.

 A day after last week's blizzard, Bloomberg laughed at the notion of busses being stuck in city streets. Here are shots of two different city busses, mere blocks from each other, in the relatively posh and mostly white section of Park Slope in Brooklyn.

 There was another bus stuck just one block away. Why were the busses stuck? Partly because a bus rescue vehicle was stuck outside our apartment overnight. Not only were bus rescue vehicles stuck, but ambulances and fire trucks were also stuck in the blizzard. And tow trucks. If Park Slope was bad, it's easy to imagine what it was like in Bushwick and even further reaches into the hood.

 Once snow plows were able to hit the streets later that day, Bloomberg made sure that the tourist spots of Times Square and Central Park were plowed. He made sure that the more popular avenues and streets of Manhattan were plowed. And he even ensured that the roads of plush Prospect Park in Brooklyn were plowed.

 However, it was at least three days before side streets in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx were cleaned. Many residential side streets were completely impassable. Some were mired in two feet of snow. Some had added obstacles of stuck cars that were iced in. And several of them were walled off on either intersection by over three foot banks of snow walls that were created when plows pushed avenue snow into the ends of streets.

 When citizens are snowed in on that level, ambulance service is impossible. So even when the ambulances were freed from their own icebound dilemmas, they were often unable to get to people who most needed help. These failures led to the deaths of babies and adults who were unable to get immediate medical care. 

 Bloomberg has been defiant in refusing to admit to his whereabouts during his absence as the storm developed and dumped two feet of snow on the city. He refuses to accept blame for the lack of aid provided to the people. Instead, he's chosen to scapegoat his underlings. He denies culpability for the deaths of citizens he chose not to free from the grips of the blizzard. He sleeps well because tourist dollars kept flowing in.

 While the aftermath of Katrina was wreaking havoc on New Orleans, Kanye West said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." A couple years later, Kanye appeared on Nightline and was asked if he still thought Bush didn't care about black people.

 "I have a hard time believing that George Bush cares about anyone," Kanye responded. "So sidebar Black people also."

 The same could be said about Mayor Bloomberg. He has revealed his true colors as a mayor who sees tourist green before borough brown. He doesn't care about the citizens of New York as much as he cares about the business of New York. He doesn't care about needy newborns or infirmed old people. He cares about keeping up the illusion that New York is a city that never sleeps.

 The city might not sleep, but Bloomberg does.

 Thanx to my sister, @Blightyboo for the inspiration in all ways.