De Blasio Happy Not to Hold a Groundhog This Year

The groundhog might see his shadow on Feb. 2 — but he won’t be seeing Mayor Bill de Blasio.

A year after a groundhog slipped from de Blasio’s grasp during the annual Staten Island Zoo Groundhog Day ceremony, the zoo is reportedly making a change to prevent the mayor from handling the animal.

De Blasio, for one, would be happy with the new plan.

“I think reform is needed,” de Blasio joked Wednesday during an unrelated news conference in Brooklyn. “I welcome a new approach.”

A year ago, the creature squirmed from de Blasio’s grasp after predicting six more weeks of winter and fell several feet to the ground. It died a week later. An autopsy revealed it suffered internal injuries, but it was not clear if they stemmed from the fall.

Moreover, it was revealed that the rodent that died was not the zoo’s famed Staten Island Chuck, but rather a female stand-in named Charlotte. The zoo did not notify the mayor’s office about the death.

The story prompted a flood of jokes about a Groundhoghazi cover-up and de Blasio’s possible impeachment. But the zoo is changing its ceremony this February so the mayor won’t pick up the animal. Instead, it will be in a plexiglass case.

Last year was de Blasio’s first time participating in the ceremony. He admitted Wednesday that he wasn’t ready to handle the groundhog.

“I must say last time, there was not an overwhelming amount of preparation and orientation before I was handed him,” de Blasio said. “May he rest in peace.”

This article appeared in print on page 5 of the January 9th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.