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| Could the NYC Subway Shutdown have been politically motivated? (1336046) | |||
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Could the NYC Subway Shutdown have been politically motivated? |
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Posted by Wallyhorse on Tue Jan 27 07:55:48 2015 Wrote this elsewhere originally:I don't think anyone would want to admit it, but I'm suspecting the real reason Cuomo did a complete shutdown of the NYC Subway as he ordered for this snowstorm-that-wasn't-as-big-as-forecast was because he almost certainly in my opinion was protecting a potential Presidential bid in 2016 (if Hillary doesn't run) OR more likely 2020 or '24 (depending on who wins the White House in '16). This was the first time anyone could remember the entire subway system being shut down due to snow. While parts (especially the open cuts and some elevated sections) have been closed in the past in big snowstorms, there was no reason for the underground portion to be closed and it never had previously been in a snowstorm, which to those of us who lived through the blizzards of 1983 (a then-record 21"), '96, 2003 and '06 (still the record) for instance never saw the MTA have problems. What happened in 2010 (as noted in a previous posting) had to do more with the MTA being ill-prepared due to when that hit: Right after Christmas when a lack of normal media availability due to the Christmas holiday likely contributed to those problems. I suspect this closure was mainly because Cuomo was fearful that NOT shutting down the entire system, the MTA screwing up and there being a situation similar to 2010 that resulted in a lawsuit similar to what happened resulting in when it would otherwise be long forgotten Cuomo having it used against him during a run for President in 2020 or '24 by a rival candidate. In the cutthroat world that is politics today, something like that scenario is certainly NOT off the table and I suspect was playing a lot heavier than anyone realized in Cuomo's decision not to trust the MTA to do things right and shut down the system. Cuomo now may be dealing with some serious blowback from this that includes potentially key donors, especially those on Wall Street making it clear that he is NEVER to shut the underground portion of the subway again like that and if he did OTHER than a Sandy-like situation where flooding is a genuine concern, he would face having donations withdrawn from a 2020 or '24 Presidential campaign. I do suspect politics may very well have played into this decision. |
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