POLITICS ON THE HUDSON

Cuomo says decision to shut down NYC was right call

Joseph Spector
Albany Bureau Chief
Gov. Andrew Cuomo discusses the aftermath of the weekend blizzard on CNN

ALBANY -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the decision over the weekend to shut down mass transit and the roads in the New York City area was the right one, saying it prevented any traffic-related deaths due to the historic blizzard.

The storm in New York City was the second most snowfall in the city's history, with LaGuardia Airport getting 27.9 inches and Kennedy International Airport finished the storm with 30.5 inches, according to AccuWeather.

The roads and the transit system were shut down on Saturday and reopened Sunday with some delays lingering into Monday morning.

"You make the best decision you can with the forecast you have. And this time, in New York, it worked out very well," Cuomo said Monday morning on CNN's "New Day."

Metro-North trains was operating Monday on a regular schedule, but there were expected to be some cancelled trains, and the Long Island Rail Road wasn't fully operational.

Central Park totaled 26.8 inches of snow, and Long Island was dealing with some coastal flooding. There were at least four deaths associated with the storm, and those appeared to be related to snow removal, such as a couple of heart attacks from being shoveling.

"We instituted a total road ban in downstate New York, which is a very elaborate measure," Cuomo said. "New Yorkers don’t like to be inconvenienced and when you close all the roads – and we closed all the crossings from New Jersey to come into the downstate area – so actually turned out to work very well."

Cuomo has faced criticism for road closures in the past -- or the lack of them. In the massive storm that hit Buffalo in November 2014, drivers were stranded on the Thruway because the road wasn't closed soon enough.

"If the forecast doesn’t turn out to dump as much snow, then they are hanging me effigy today and they are criticizing me," Cuomo said.

The Democratic governor also saved a few barbs for his brother, Chris Cuomo, who co-hosts CNN's "New Day."

Chris Cuomo was stationed in Iowa covering the upcoming presidential caucuses.

"Some people see a challenge coming and they run," the governor said, keeping up his long history of teasing his young brother on the show. "They just know that they can’t deal with it; they get intimidated; they get anxious and they literally flee the scene. That has happened. I don’t want to name names."

Chris Cuomo saved his response from the host who questioned Cuomo, teasing: "Can you keep it a little impartiality?"