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(Ground)Hog Wild About Chuck's Bloomberg Bite
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 3, 2009
Modified Feb 3, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 3, 2009
Modified Feb 3, 2009
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Charles G. Hogg, better known as Staten Island Chuck, the Staten Island Zoo's resident groundhog, is becoming a bit of a folk hero after his Groundhog Day encounter with Mayor Bloomberg. The rodent bit the Mayor, who was trying to coax him out for his annual prediction; the Daily News even put Chuck on the cover!
Chuck's handler Doug Schwartz explained to the Staten Island Advance that Mayor Bloomberg and others "were trying to lure [Chuck] out with the corn but I guess he would have none of it. He was chewing on a bit of it and then he would run back in the house." Schwartz said of Chuck and Bloomberg, "They were definitely wrestling there for awhile. They definitely looked like they were involved in a tussle."
The Daily News points out that Mayor Bloomberg did reduce the Staten Island Zoo's budget by 15%, from $1.6 million to $1.3 million. Zoo spokeswoman Mary Lee Montalvo told the NY Times, "He was basically concentrating on his food. The mayor’s fingers may have just been there. He wasn’t necessarily going for the mayor.” However, the Post has a photograph of the Mayor's Band-Aided finger and reminds us, "In ancient mythology, animal bites were seen as bad omens. What this means for the future is unclear." As in... this November's election.
Earlier today, a group of protestors interrupted the Mayor during a Crain's New York conference at the Grand Hyatt. Politicker NY's Azi Paybarah has video, writing, " It was remarkably undramatic, really. Everyone just kind of waited for them to be done, including the mayor. And then they left." So we have imagined a dramatic groundhog pack confrontation with the mayor in the image at top.
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groundhog
mayor bloomberg
staten island chuck
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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