The way I see it, winter
doesn’t actually kick off until there are several days in a row where we have to
deal with snow storms and temperatures that fall well below 40 degrees. In the
past couple of weeks, we’ve been braving what I’d consider a normal amount of
snow and frigid air that one would expect to accompany the winter months.
Big deal – Mayor de Blasio
and the National Weather Service didn’t get it right on January 26th when the
city got less than a foot of snow when “they” predicted we’d be paralyzed and buried
up to our thighs! While communities outside the tri-state area were pummeled,
the blizzard that was supposed to immobilize us – so badly that they shut the
city down – reportedly missed us by 50 miles. BIG DEAL! New York has dealt
with tornadoes, wind storms, tropical storms and flooding for centuries and we’re only NOW pointing fingers at who’s to blame
for an inaccurate meteorological reading?
So, do we need a better
measurement of where a storm, of any proportion, is heading so officials don’t
freak people out for “no reason”? Watching Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s press conference
on the potential development of a more high-tech, state-run weather detection
system looked like some type of joke. Instead of using systems like the
European Model and the North American Model to track storms, Cuomo plans on
turning to a more accurate system since the one implemented now, “doesn’t
provide real-time or localized information, nor does it collect certain
environmental data that can make it easier to predict storms,” he said. Then
what’s the point of broadcasting ANY
weather forecast if they’re all considered flimsy bullshit predictions? And what will a more detailed prediction DO? It's not going to stop the storm and the destruction it could potentially cause.
The worst part of this
development and its inception is that the Governor wants to use federal
Hurricane Sandy relief funds to pay for this high tech system! I thought relief funds
were supposed to be allocated for rebuilding...to make our state structurally
stronger, resilient and protect against future devastation. With this new
weather gadget costing about $25 million, where are the priorities and when
will the money be released to get those “small” resiliency projects started?
Canarsie, Bergen Beach,
Gerritsen Beach, and other neighborhoods that need federal funds to rebuild, have
spent months and years discussing ways on how they can make waterfront
communities stronger and protect homes from destructive flooding. When New York
Rising came to our community, we had to form a rebuilding committee, map out
feasible resiliency plans and propose concrete ways to safeguard residents
and their properties during a storm.
How long has Gov. Cuomo been
sitting on this fabulous meteorological proposal? You mean to tell me that no
other government official – in our
state’s history – has complained about an “inaccurate” forecast or thought
about bringing a new-aged system to our vulnerable state? I guess, up until now,
we’ve been relying on a “flimsy” weather antenna to tell us when we should evacuate our
homes or expect flooding during high tide?
Does Cuomo want to blame his
decision to call a state of emergency – when there was no real emergency
– on someone (or something) else? Oh yeah! If we had our own doppler-thingy or hygrometers, we wouldn’t have had to tell the MTA to stop all of their
trains because we’d be experts with our own atmospheric equipment!
What worries me is how and
when the state will allocate money for this new system when thousands of waterfront
communities still need funds to make
their shorelines more stable after Hurricane Sandy. How can you estimate how
much money you’re putting towards a huge project for the future when you
haven’t even started working on community-based needs projects NOW? There are
hurricane-related construction contracts waiting to be drawn, approved and
funded. After all of that takes place, maybe we can start worrying about this
thing called the weather, which humans will never
be able to predict 100 percent of the time.
Thanks Gov. Cuomo, for
blaming a massive city shut-down on a weather system you’re going to waste
millions on to improve. I can’t wait to see all the cool equipment he picks out
to protect us – maybe there’s a raincoat in there somewhere! Either way,
Hurricane Sandy victims who need that money to rebuild will feel the wrath of
Cuomo raining on their parade.
Unpublished as of 1-29-15
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