Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned New Yorkers not to travel as a winter storm made road conditions dangerous — but then he drove to New York City.
The storm, named Orlena, was expected to dump one to three inches of snow per hour and resulted in a preemptive state of emergency being declared in nine counties, as well as New York City. Cuomo issued a statement warning residents to do whatever they could to stay at home and to get all absolutely necessary travel completed before noon. (RELATED: ‘Who Cares?’: Cuomo Says Where People Died Of Coronavirus Doesn’t Actually Matter)
“This storm is no joke and the main concern right now is that the expected snowfall rate of two inches per hour this afternoon creates an extremely dangerous situation on our roadways. When snow is falling that quickly, it makes it very difficult for plows to keep up with it,” Cuomo said. “I want New Yorkers to hear me loud and clear – stay home and off the roads and if you must travel, get where you’re going before noon, and expect to remain home for some time.”
Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a similar warning to city-dwellers, saying in a statement, “New Yorkers should stay home, keep the roads clear for emergency vehicles and let our plows work to keep us safe … Make no mistake: This storm will bring heavy snowfall and it will make travel dangerous in every neighborhood in our city.”
Details of @NYCMayor’s emergency storm travel restrictions: pic.twitter.com/8eRQYewUKg
— Bill Neidhardt (@BNeidhardt) February 1, 2021
But on Monday morning, during a radio interview with Juliet Papa of 1010 WINS radio in New York, Cuomo acknowledged that he was on the road, en route to New York City.
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Papa joked that Cuomo was personally checking out the road conditions, and he replied, “I am personally driving into New York City.”
Cuomo did clarify that, because he was still concerned about the spread of coronavirus, he was driving alone.