City Offices Are Open, But There's Nobody At City Hall

The Times went looking to see if Bloomberg's decree to have city offices opened and staffed was having Herr Mayor's desired effect.

Here's what they found:

City Hall itself was almost entirely deserted, although its stoic French Renaissance facade appeared unruffled in the morning winds.

The interior hallways had a ghostly feel. The office of the City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, was completely empty, although its gate remained open.

Good to see city employees stayed home.

Now on to the an important question:

Why is Bloomberg insisting New York City government offices are opened when it's clear they're really not.

Here was his rationale for keeping the offices opened:

The mayor’s insistence that city employees go to work on Monday — despite closed schools, no mass transit and a general encouragement from public officials to stay inside — raised eyebrows among some municipal observers. But asked about it at a Sunday news conference, Mr. Bloomberg said the city must function when its denizens need it most.

“We need the city workers,” Mr. Bloomberg told a reporter. “We all take great pride in our dedication to serving the public, and this is something that we are going to have to do. It may be inconvenient, hopefully it’s not dangerous, but city workers are here to help others, and I think they all understand that.”

Cuomo just updated us to say it is dangerous, the worst is yet to come and people should stay in if at all possible.

The governor of Maryland said he was afraid there were going to be more than a few fatalities as a result of this storm.

And Bloomberg?

City offices are opened, come on in an and get that contingent building license you need.