Mayor Nutter Defends Closing the City Today
It might not have snowed all that much, but Mayor Nutter still wore his elected-official-in-extreme-weather uniform Tuesday.
Mayor Nutter is defending the city’s decision to shut down the government Tuesday.
Philadelphia only ended up getting a couple inches of snow, despite predictions that a historic blizzard was upon us. At a press conference Tuesday morning, Nutter said officials made the decision to shut down the city government and schools late Monday night, when forecasters were still calling for six to 10 inches of snow in Philly.
“We tried to wait until the last possible moment,” says Nutter. “I’d rather be wrong with virtually nothing happen, as opposed to being wrong and 14 inches of snow show up and we’re not ready for it.”
Nutter said it would have been “unfair” to reverse the city’s decision in the wee hours of the morning.
Here’s other important stuff you ought to know:
- City offices will reopen Wednesday.
- You can start putting your trash and recyclables out on the day you normally would on Wednesday. You may see some trash trucks out today, however, to collect rubbish that was left on the streets Monday.
- Though it didn’t blizzard, it’s still really cold out. City officials are continuing to urge those who see a homeless person on the streets to call 215-232-1984.
- Likewise, city officials are still urging those who see a dog or other pet outside to call the Animal Care & Control Team of Philadelphia at 267-385-3800.
- City officials lifted Philadelphia’s snow emergency at 6 a.m., which means you can park your car on snow emergency routes again.
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