CITY HALL This year, Staten Island Chuck was not going to be dropped by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
An entirely different Groundhog Day ceremony took place at the Staten Island Zoo on Monday, twelve months after a potentially fatal mayoral gaffe.
De Blasio, who returned to the scene of the event from the previous year, seemed to approve of the new strategy. The mayor viewed modifications to the ceremony as “progressive,” much like the majority of the things he has helped to reshape since assuming office.
Chuck sat in a plastic box a few feet away from de Blasio. “I think we finally understand each other,” he said. The furry prognosticator appeared to be totally oblivious to de Blasio’s existence.
Everyone concurred that this was most likely a good thing.
A week after Groundhog Day, Charlotte, the 10-month-old woodchuck that played Chuck the previous year, passed away from “acute internal injuries.” When Charlotte crawled up De Blasio’s arm at the 2014 event, he dropped her several feet.
Although the Zoo stated that it was “unlikely” that the groundhog’s death was connected to Charlotte’s run-in with the mayor, it was unable to pinpoint the exact source of her injuries. However, zoo officials decided that adjustments should still be made.
At the 2014 Staten Island Zoo Groundhog Day celebration, Mayor Bill de Blasio, left, grimaced as Staten Island Chuck escaped and fell to the platform.
For the majority of the event, the groundhog was concealed inside a plexiglass box. For the forecast, it was raised using an elevator. Before authorities concluded that Chuck did not see his shadow, no one touched him, indicating an early spring.
According to the mayor, this was “safer for both species involved.”
The first mayor to hold Chuck during Groundhog Day festivities was former Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2009. The local officials in charge of the ceremony began receiving heavy gloves from the Zoo. De Blasio’s yellow gloves from the previous year were sometimes blamed for Charlotte’s escape.
However, he reminded the audience that “half of you are here because you’re waiting for something to go wrong.” Edward Burke, a member of the Zoo board and deputy borough president, stated that officials wanted a more “hands-free” event.
The “hands-free mayor” was then reassured by Burke, to laughter, that there would be no shocks because “2015 is not a leap year.”
De Blasio seemed unfazed by these and other lighthearted insults, even telling himself that a “very concerted effort” had been made to make sure the ceremony was secure.
“Teams of animal behavior experts and scientists have consulted from all over the country,” he stated. “On my behalf, the National Institutes of Health has provided input. Additionally, the National Institute of Groundhog Health has provided input. I believe NASA became involved.
The groundhog looked confused as he was hoisted to the stage via his “Chuck-a-vator” and brought into the enclosure. As de Blasio and other officials watched, Chuck sniffed about.
“He’s wondering if, on a day like today, the city’s has a slush fund,” said Burke. After a moment of mild surprise, de Blasio grinned and asked security to remove Burke in jest.
De Blasio thanked Chuck when officials determined the groundhog didn’t see his shadow without approaching too closely and seeming to confer with the animal.
Chuck’s forecast and the ceremony’s modifications appeared to be favorably received by Zoo Groundhog Day devotees. No one blamed the mayor for Charlotte’s death last year, despite their sadness.
“I think it was just an accident and he just didn’t have the right training,” Silver Lake 10-year-old Anna McDonald stated. “He didn’t know he wasn’t able to hold the groundhog carefully and dropped him on accident.”
Theresa Lombardo, who watched the hearings last year with her daughter, recalled the collective gasp when Charlotte dropped several feet. According to Ms. Lombardo, this year she wasn’t concerned about the groundhog’s safety.
“I figured they were going to be very careful,” she replied.
Nevertheless, Sophia, her 10-year-old daughter, expressed her disappointment that the mayor did not receive the prognosis directly from Chuck.
Sophia Lombardo remarked, “I used to like it when someone got to hold it ’cause that’s tradition,” “But it’s better to be safe.”
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