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    You are at:Home»Lifestyle»Animals/Pets»February 2, 2014: Mayor of New York City Kills Groundhog, Incident Covered Up!
    Animals/Pets

    February 2, 2014: Mayor of New York City Kills Groundhog, Incident Covered Up!

    Major DanBy Major DanFebruary 2, 2015Updated:January 22, 20214 Comments2 Mins Read
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    Bill de Blasio

    A Brief History

    On February 2, 2014, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio fumbled the unfortunate groundhog Charlotte, dropping the marmot on her head during a Groundhog Day ceremony.  For information about Groundhog Day, please read our article “First Groundhog Day Celebration in Punxsutawney,” but as you probably gathered by today’s article’s title, Groundhog Day is not only celebrated in Pennsylvania.

    Digging Deeper

    With regards to the tragic 2014 Groundhog Day in New York, typical of politically-staged events, the lies or misinformation started right away when the groundhog was called “Chuck,” when in reality it was a female named Charlotte who had been provided for the event by the Staten Island Zoo.  It was bad enough that the public saw the mayor drop the hapless rodent, but the drama continued when the poor animal died about a week later.  Although a necropsy revealed the cause of death to be injuries consistent from being dropped, the zoo allegedly kept that information from the mayor’s office and the public, claiming the critter had instead died of “old age.”

    After this debacle, the zoo reportedly used Charlotte’s daughter as the 2015 “Staten Island Chuck” with Mayor de Blasio watching her from a much safer six feet away.  From 2016 onwards, de Blasio has avoided attending the annual event.  Mayor de Blasio had also fumbled other things in 2014 with lasting consequences, notably his relationship with the New York Police Department, but that is another story…

    Question for students (and subscribers): Do you think de Blasio was a good mayor?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Viteritti, Joseph P.  The Pragmatist: Bill de Blasio’s Quest to Save the Soul of New York.  Oxford University Press, 2017.

    The featured image in this article, a photograph of a groundhog by Shenandoah National Park from Virginia, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

    You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube.

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    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

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    <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="8954 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=8954">4 Comments

    1. Hannah Louk on February 2, 2015 5:12 pm

      Well once again the corruption of our country’s government rears it’s ugly head. I feel really bad for that groundhog. And I’m appalled at how the mayor handled it.

      Reply
    2. gsack89 on February 8, 2015 1:16 pm

      I thought this was horrible, I feel bad for that groundhog.

      Reply
    3. DAVID WARDLE on February 8, 2015 6:27 pm

      How unfortunate for the groundhog… Thank goodness it was not a child! — DAVID WARDLE

      Reply
    4. Harvey Tolley on February 10, 2015 12:46 pm

      Tradition is nice but the thought of a shadow predicting winter or spring is quite humorous. The fact that the governor killed a groundhog all in the name of a publicity photo is something that shows how ridiculous politicians are sometimes.

      Reply

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