Michael Bloomberg, who aspires to be known as the greatest mayor ever, was a tad testy yesterday.
Why? Because Mother Nature had snowed on his parade and — as mayor — he had to deal with it.
In the event, not very well.
Certainly, New Yorkers aren’t terribly dazzled by the city’s performance.
Indeed, Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty — the man in operational charge of the snowplows — admitted the storm “got ahead of us.”
“I’m angry, too,” Hizzoner snapped when asked about the many streets that remained unplowed yesterday — and about his seemingly cavalier take on it all on Monday.
Asked if he had any regrets, Bloomberg went sarcastic: “You know, I regret everything in the world.”
Maybe even running for a third term?
Bottom line: It’s the mayor’s job to run the city; the buck stops with him.
And yet, for the past 48 hours, New Yorkers have had to endure a brutal ordeal — with emergency calls backed up, roads left unplowed, riders trapped on trains, buses stuck in snow . . .
A potentially iconic video bouncing around the Internet summed it all up: a city tow truck hauling a backhoe out of a snowdrift — and smashing up a parked SUV in the process.
Says the mayor: “Yelling about it and complaining doesn’t help.”
On Monday, he actually said the situation created mere “inconveniences” — and urged folks to “go out and shop or take in a Broadway show.”
Maybe if he had done a little “yelling about it,” the streets would have been plowed yesterday. Certainly it’s hard to imagine Mayor Giuliani taking such a laid-back approach to the problem.
Never mind being the “greatest” mayor, Mike. How about being just mayor?
As we said yesterday, everyone understands that this week’s blizzard was bad — the sixth worst in city history, in terms of snowfall.
Everyone knows that the challenge for officials to keep the city running — and its population and property safe — in such a situation is daunting.
But then, no one said being mayor would be easy.
“By all accounts, the collective storm response was not anywhere near up to the standards New Yorkers are accustomed to,” City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said yesterday. “This is unacceptable.” The Council, she said, will ask “serious questions” at hearings on the city’s response next month.
Those are entirely appropriate — and good for her.
New Yorkers are owed answers.
Maybe even an apology.
Meanwhile, let’s hope the rest of the clean-up is smoother — and speedier — than it’s been.