What to Know
- Mayor de Blasio did not attend the Staten Island Zoo's annual Groundhog Day ceremony for the third straight year
- The mayor's spokesman, Eric Phillips, says the mayor has many other events to attend
- The last time de Blasio held the groundhog was in 2014, when he dropped a stand-in groundhog named Charlotte
Good news sprung early Friday morning — spring is right around the corner, at least based on Staten Island Chuck's prediction.
Legend has it if a furry rodent casts a shadow on Groundhog Day, Feb. 2, one can expect six more weeks of winter-like weather. If not, expect spring-like temperatures.
Chuck's prediction came shortly after his counterpart in Philadelphia, Punxsutawney Phil, delivered a more ominous prediction: six more weeks of winter. Perhaps it's just a hog said, hog said kind of thing.
Mayor de Blasio did not attend the Staten Island Zoo's annual Groundhog Day ceremony. The mayor's spokesman, Eric Phillips, says the mayor hasn't attended in recent years and has many other events to attend. It was the third-straight year the mayor has skipped. The zoo's groundhog Chuck has made weather predictions for more than three decades.
The last time de Blasio held the groundhog was in 2014, when he dropped a stand-in groundhog named Charlotte.
Charlotte died several days after being dropped, however, the zoo says it was unlikely that the death was related to being dropped.
De Blasio was not the first to have groundhog troubles, as former Mayor Michael Bloomberg was bitten by Chuck in 2009.
