Roughly 35 million Americans were under a blizzard warning late Sunday into Monday. New York issued its first such warning since 2017, while the last time the entire state of New Jersey fell under a blizzard warning was 1996.
As reported on Monday’s AM Update, some areas were expected to pick up as much as 28 inches of snow before the storm wound down, and officials warned that powerful winds could knock down trees and power lines, raising the threat of outages.
Mamdani’s Struggles
In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani faced his second major snowstorm since taking office earlier this year. The newly minted mayor came under tremendous criticism for his handling of last month’s cold snap, during which at least 19 people died on the streets due to frigid temperatures.
“Mamdani had paused homeless encampment sweeps when he took office, saying they were inhumane,” Megyn noted on AM Update. “Many felt letting 19 homeless people die in the cold wasn’t great either.”
The mayor has since reversed course, re-implementing the sweeps ahead of the latest storm in an effort to force people indoors. He also declared a state of emergency, deployed warming buses throughout the city, and, on Saturday, encouraged residents to sign up as “emergency snow shovelers.”
“And for those who want to do more to help your neighbors and earn some extra cash, you too can become an emergency snow shoveler,” Mamdani told New Yorkers. “Just show up at your local sanitation garage between 8am and 1pm [Sunday] with your paperwork, which is accessible online at nyc.gov/snow and you can get started right away.”
Under Fire
It didn’t take long for critics to notice the city’s website instructs potential shovelers to present – count ’em – five forms of ID in order to get paid, including two photo IDs, two original forms of ID, and a social security card. To be clear, the per diem role involves the basic task of removing snow and ice “from public areas like bus stops, crosswalks and fire hydrants, and step streets,” according to NYC.gov.
“In most storms, Emergency Snow Shoveler pay starts at $19.14 per hour and increases to $28.71 per hour after the first 40 hours worked in a week,” the website states. “Due to blizzard conditions in the current winter storm, pay for this weather event starts at $30 per hour and increases to $45 per hour after the first 40 hours worked in a week.”
Many noted the hypocrisy of the policy given the mayor’s opposition to voter ID laws and the SAVE Act currently being considered by the U.S. Senate, a measure requiring ID in federal elections and proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
The Democratic Socialists of America, of which the mayor is a member, firmly opposes the SAVE Act, writing on its website: “This bill is part of an escalating campaign to reverse the gains of the civil rights movement and marginalize working class Americans who do not have access to documentary proof of citizenship. Our candidates for office stand firm against racist voter ID laws.”
Mayor Mamdani deflected blame for the policy while speaking to reporters Sunday:
“This is a long-standing program and long-standing requirements, and this is a way that New Yorkers get paid to shovel snow in assistance with the city’s response to a winter storm event. Federal law requires that employers get authorization and documentation to pay people for their work. We are not allowed to just cut checks to individuals for their work, and these are the policies that we’ve had in place. But I understand that for many, it’s the first time that they’ve ever heard about it.”
Megyn summed it up best: “So, ID to vote in an election is racist and overly burdensome, but, to shovel snow, it’s fine? Got it.”
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