Non-Snow Day--De Blasio Made the Right Call

I've seen a lot of talk about the mayor and the recent snow day, the one in which it barely snowed. It's pretty easy to point fingers at the mayor and say he made an error. In a way, he did, but in a more significant way, he didn't. It doesn't take an Albert Einstein to figure that it really didn't snow enough to justify closing the schools. I won't argue with anyone who says that.

However, the mayor isn't a meteorologist either. I was watching TV on Sunday and it looked like there were going to be 4 to 6 inches of snow. Given that, I was dreading the drive in. I always think I'll call in sick or something, and end up going in anyway, because I'm crazy or something. You might be smarter than me and stay home on days like that, and I don't blame you at all.

I will never forget Carmen "It's a beautiful day" Fariña announcing that Macy's was open so it was fine for us to drive through the raging blizzard. I will never forget the four plus hours it took me to get home either. A friend of mine broke down on the highway and had to wait there all night. She had a Prius back then. She's since sold it, bought a small SUV, and moved from Suffolk to Queens. No more long drives for her.

I haven't done anything quite so radical as move, but I certainly understand. The incredible arrogance and insensitivity of someone who gets chauffeured around from gala luncheon to dinner gala saying we should trudge back and forth because Macy's is open is hard to forget.

Carmen's predecessor, He Who Shall Not Be Named, was even worse. As a blogger, I'd be up at 5 AM waiting for the announcement, which rarely came. De Blasio decided he would give notice so parents could plan. That's perfectly valid. If you're a working parent, you may not want to leave your kids home and hope for the best. Also, 5 AM may not be the optimal time to find child care if you need it.

Better safe than sorry, and I for one am glad this mayor wants not only children, but also their teachers to be safe. Losing one day is not the end of the world. Of course, I'll regret it if we have another snow day and end up making up the day in June, but that's the risk you take. If I find myself sitting in some miserable hot classroom in June I'll be sure to have a good sulk over it, but I'll recover.

There's not a whole lot of chance of a late March snow day, but we had one last year. You never know. Here's one way to look at it--we're in the middle of a six-week stretch without a day off. Should we get one, it may be valuable. We'll be able to do all the important things we've been neglecting, like have a snowball fight, ride sleds down the hill, or take a nap.

The mayor made the right call. I don't love everything he does, but unlike his predecessor, He Who Also Shall Not Be Named, he seems human.