The Mayor and his caravan made its way through Queens. Even with the trappings of a police escort the journey took much longer than normal. The snowstorm had passed, but the snow was still everywhere. On the way to meet with concerned citizens the mayor’s own car got temporarily stuck in the snow. Yet as mayors often do in times of crisis, he persisted and arrived in Kew Garden. He was not well-received.

Upon arrival one woman yelled to him, “you should be ashamed of yourself.” More people screamed at him. Profanities were fired his way. Then finally at a later stop in Fresh Meadows the Mayor received a compliment. One woman called the mayor, “a wonderful man.” The mayor momentarily smiled and responded to her by saying, “And you’re a wonderful woman, not like those fat Jewish broads up there.”

This was not how it was supposed to be for the Mayor of the City of New York. He was an independent thinker, a man above politics or party. He was a national figure, who was often mentioned as a candidate for President. In the weeks before the storm hit he had given serious indication that he was going to in fact seek the presidency.

And then it all came snowing down.

No, this is not the story about Michael Bloomberg. In the above story the year was 1969 and the mayor was John Lindsay. And while it was over 40 years ago, history is finding a way to repeat itself.

NYC of today is far different than it was in 1969. When that storm hit, on February 10, 1969, Robert Moses had been out of power for only 2 months. But the effect of his destructive reign on the city was in full bloom. The population was in decline, being ushered out of the city by a constellation of new roads, bridges and highways constructed by the master planner. The decay in working class neighborhoods was already evident.

As the city healed from its post-war malaise in the 80′s, 90′s, 00′s and through today, it grew financially stronger, and overall its a much better place to live. Even with the decline in the economy, the city is not bankrupt and no one in Washington is telling New York to ‘drop dead.’

But this snowstorm has the residents of the city rethinking the strength of the city. For those old enough to remember the week that followed February 10, 1969, this storm has served as an eerie reminder of that storm – and of that era.

In today’s New York Times, there is an outstanding piece of journalism by Sharon Otterman and Al Baker. It is a heartbreaking report on those who died or suffered great harm because EMT workers could not reach their homes. One woman went into labor. 911 was called at 8:30AM. EMT arrived at 6pm. By then the baby was dead. A 74-year old woman was showing signs of a stroke. Her home-health aide called 911. The time was 9AM. By 3PM EMT arrived but couldn’t get any closer than a few blocks away. Police and emergency workers displayed heroics by carrying her on a stretcher through the snow for several blocks, but by the time they had arrived, her prognosis was grim.

This happened in New York City. And it happened in 2010.

The City Council has scheduled hearing on January 10th to evaluate what went wrong. While that’s a necessary step its also a reactionary one. The City Council seems quick to point fingers at the Mayor for cutting the budget for the Department of Sanitation — but where was the outrage of the Council when the budget was passed? Did any single member of the City Council raise this concern during the budget process? If not, they are just as responsible for the Mayor, if the cause of the mangled cleanup effort was lack of funds. Instead of being in reactive mode, the Council can do something proactive as well. This isn’t the time for grandstanding, this is a time to develop a plan so this never happens again.

In truth we do not yet know who to blame or why the snow removal was so poor. But we do know this – Mayors, rightly or wrongly, are judged by how well the snow is cleaned up. History suggests the future is very bleak for those who fail this critical test.

Just ask John Lindsay.