There was only one thing dumber than the mayor’s decision to keep city schools open during Thursday’s snow storm: The pathetic way he and his team tried to defend the decision.
As Mother Nature was unloading the white stuff on Gotham, de Blasio tried to justify the decision to force the kids out of their homes and into the Alaska-like streets on the grounds that by going to school they could get a hot lunch.
Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña didn’t help. “It’s a beautiful day out there,” she said, dismissing concerns about the weather and conveying the impression her head was in Palm Beach.
Nobody was buying it. In a series of tweets, the “Today” show weatherman, Al Roker, wondered why schools opened — and then closed early. Roker slammed the mayor in a tweet for blaming the late decision-making on faulty weather reports.
“Don’t blame weather for YOUR poor policy,” Roker tweeted before delivering the dagger: “Long range de Blasio forecast: 1 term.” Ouch.
Parents complained. Elected officials piled on. Even a union ally, the United Federation of Teachers’ Mike Mulgrew, said having “students, parents and staff traveling in these conditions was unwarranted. It was a mistake to open schools today.”
But if even storm clouds have silver linings, give the mayor credit for this: By managing to tick off everyone with this boneheaded decision, he has finally made good on his promise to create One New York.
If you catch our drift.