It Could Be Worse: Seven of New York’s All-Time Biggest Snow Storms
“The Lindsay Snowstorm” of 1969
Not technically a blizzard, but another rough snow storm made all the worse by the fact that people didn’t seem to see it coming, or even if they did, underestimated it as just a “chance of snow.” The city got about 20 inches of snow, closing schools and disrupting transportation, mail, trash pickup, and food delivery. Mainly, it turned into a massive political crisis for Mayor Lindsay, who was roundly criticized not just for slow, inadequate response, but for favoring Manhattan over the outer boroughs; a week after the storm, parts of Queens still hadn’t been plowed. The storm even earned the nickname “the Lindsay Snowstorm,” and nearly brought down his entire administration (though he earned re-election the same year, and we all know how things went from there).
Apparently, during a visit to Queens after the storm, a woman told the Mayor to “Get away, you bum,” leading to the following incident:
“During the mayor’s walk through Fresh Meadows, a woman called him “a wonderful man,” prompting the mayor to respond, “And you’re a wonderful woman, not like those fat Jewish broads up there,” pointing to women in a nearby building who had criticized him.
The comment was recorded on tape, but The New York Times, The Associated Press and WNEW radio declined to run with the story.”
Seems like that might have been need-to-know information for voters, in hindsight.