A couple of years after my parents retired in a snow-heavy area of Michigan, they had a neighbor with a snow blower who would usually clear not only his driveway, walkway, and sidewalk, but also those of my parents. Prior to that, either my dad did it, or I did it when I was home for Christmas. One winter break, it snowed every single day that I was home, and I enjoyed (!) going outside with my snow scoop and taking care of it. My parents had another neighbor whose area I also took care of; before I turned 16, I earned money in the winter (in Iowa) by scooping snow for a few neighbors, but as a young adult, I was doing it for the sheer enjoyment of it!
All of this came to mind last week when I read about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s call for emergency snow shovelers to help dig out the snow-blanketed city. Prior to that, there had been reports of volunteers who were snow-shoveling, along with the employed city workers tasked with it. The pay was initially reported to be about $19/hour, but it was quickly increased to a very generous $30/hour. However, there were a few catches: first of all, paid snow-shovelers had to be at least 18 and eligible to work in the U.S. Second, they had to show two original forms of ID plus copies; their social security card; and two small photos sized 1.5 square inches. (This is not the same as a passport-sized photo, by the way, which is 2 X 2 inches.) If you were a snowed-in New Yorker and you happened to have all of this documentation, you were good to go! However, notice that you had to show not just two IDs, but copies as well; for those without printers, that would require the extra step of heading out into the snow and finding a business that was open and could make copies. Notice also the size of the required photos; if you had a couple of extra passport-size photos lying around (which I do), you would have had to do a little cutting. If you didn’t have extras, you could try to do it yourself, or you could head out into the snow and, again, hopefully find an open business that would do it for you. When I looked online, I did find a site that provides you with passport-size photos (for a fee, of course), which you could then print (again, if you had a printer) and then cut to the appropriate size.
As you might expect, Mamdani and other city officials received backlash over these stringent requirements. In response, New York City Department of Sanitation press secretary Vincent Gragnani said, “As with any employer, the City of New York has a legal obligation under federal law to verify work authorization and maintain proper documentation before issuing payment. We are not legally permitted to hand out checks without completing that process.” It is not clear whether there could have been a suspension of at least some of these rigorous requirements; however, given that this was officially an “emergency shoveling program,” it seems that should have been possible. To be fair, in spite of all of these requirements, there were about 7600 people who met all of them and signed up; this is even more than ten years ago, when New York City had its worst snowstorm on record and 6454 people were recruited.
Mamdani and other city officials received additional backlash, however, because New York City does not require registered voters to show ID to vote. For first-time voters, even a driver’s license number or a social security number is not required when registering to vote; a current utility bill will do. And even if that fails, you can vote by affidavit ballot, which means that your eligibility to vote will (hopefully?) be checked before your ballot is counted.
In sum, if you want to earn money in NYC as an emergency snow shoveler, you have to meet several requirements; on the other hand, if you want to vote, a utility bill will do, and even if you don’t have that, you can still cast a ballot. This blog is focused on Biblical answers to current issues and questions, not political decisions, but it seems to me that there is something askew here.
If I were living in New York City, I would be more than willing to shovel snow for myself and a couple of neighbors for free; I might even shovel crosswalks. Admittedly, in this hypothetical situation, when I learned about the city offering money to remove snow and ice from public areas–specifically bus stops, crosswalks, fire hydrants and step streets–I might do that as well!
I don’t live in snow country anymore, but one place I enjoy volunteering is at my church; over the years, I have done some in my community at large as well. I would encourage you to do the same, as you are able. I hope volunteering is something that never grows out of fashion; it sounds a lot like what the Bible calls serving one another.
To the Remnant 
Thank you for this good post, Keith. All of that bother to shovel snow and so little bother to vote. Something is definitely askew. In Arkansas we have to show ID (most show their license) at the polling place to vote.
There are still 12 states where voter ID is not required. From the internet:
“Only 12 states and the District of Columbia will, with few exceptions, let you vote at the polls without any documentation under certain circumstances.
That includes California, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.”
It is so easy to show an ID when voting that I really don’t understand why states would not require it so that there might be less possibility for problems with their election results.
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Thanks, Chris. I’m sorry to say I live in CA, where an ID is not required. And in fact, now it’s essentially impossible to vote in person at a polling place here; you receive a ballot in the mail, and you either have to either mail it in, or drop it off at a designated location. I not only miss voting in person, but more importantly, it helped prevent voter fraud. As for why some states don’t require an ID: I’ve heard a number of politicians, who should know better, say that requiring an ID to vote is “racist.” Such foolishness!
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I grew up in Southern California at a time when we lived in a different world. I am sorry to see how things have changed for the worse there in so many ways. I still have family who live there and they seem to like it there okay but things like this are crazy. You can’t even vote in person. I don’t think any other state has a system like that. If California continues with this type of voting system, I can imagine them having huge issues with voter fraud or accusations of voter fraud.
Such foolishness, indeed, Keith. Thank you for sharing and at least one thing you can enjoy there is the year round weather. I have many great family memories of living in California.
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Thanks, Chris; voter fraud seems inevitable with this kind of voting system. One thing I’ll say about CA is that it has a lot of natural beauty, including in snow country this time of year. I don’t think we’ll make it to Yosemite NP in the snow this year, but I’ll see if we can manage it again another year. Can you tell I miss living in snow country?! 😀❄
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You’re welcome, Keith, and thank you for your reply. It does seem that voting fraud will be on people’s mind’s there.
I grew up in West Covina, California. We were a bit over an hour from Newport beach and a bit over an hour from the snow in the mountains to the north. We could see Mount Baldy on clear days. It was a great place to grow up as a kid. I’ll never forget the natural beauty of California. My parents took us to see the many parts of California including memorable trips to see the Redwoods.
I can tell you miss living in snow country but if you went back, how long would it be before you would be wishing for that California weather? 🙂
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Thanks, Chris. We live in the Central Valley, where we reach triple digits a few times during the summer; it’s dry heat, thankfully. I suppose I would miss CA in some ways, but primarily some of the beauty, and not the extreme heat! 🔥😀
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I had a friend from college and his family who lived somewhere in the Central Valley and his family had a vineyard. I don’t know if it still exists because we are talking late 70s’ very early 80s’. I know there is a lot of agriculture there. I travelled up and down highway 5 numerous times during college days from So. Cal to Portland where I went to college. I have experienced some of that summer heat so I can see how you miss the snow at times. What a change for you to go from somewhere where you shoveled snow to the Central Valley of California. Another nice thing about where you live, like where I live, is the fact that there are not huge numbers of people. I have only lived in a major city (San Francisco) for three years and I never felt comfortable there. Southern California has a very large population, of course, but it was better spread out when I grew up there. I hope you enjoy your spring there in the Central Valley, Keith! 🙂
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I was reflecting earlier this morning on the various places I’ve lived; until I was 32, I always lived in cold-weather climes. Since then, I’ve lived in CA; we moved here mainly because of my aging in-laws. We lived in the East Bay for three years, but that was not the place for us. Here in the Central Valley, we found a place where people are somewhat less busy and easier to get to know; some of that definitely has to do with a somewhat smaller population, which you referred to. It was also a good place for us to raise our kids.
Good “talking” with you, Chris!
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My parents moved to Arkansas to be close to my Grandparents, and my kids were approaching school age. Those were two of the major reasons we moved here. The pace is so much slower than it was in California. Some people like the fast pace but I really like a slower pace. I’ll be here until I die unless God does something drastic to cause an unforeseen change.
Nice “talking” with you too, Keith.
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Yes, a slower pace of life is good. Blessings to you, Chris!
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Thank you, Keith. May God bless you as well!
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Hi Keith, I don’t want to go into politics but I’ve looked up on the net that of the ten biggest snowstorms in NYC history since accurate statistics were taken in 1869, eight of these occurred since 1996 including one last month that ranked 9th. I don’t know enough about meteorology to figure out what this means. May the Lord bless your ministry abundantly.
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Interesting, Tony. Could that statistic indicate global cooling–or at least NYC cooling?! ❄😂
As always, I appreciate your comment!
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I also hope we don’t lose the spirit of volunteering!
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Most definitely, and thank you, Brother!
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You are welcome Keith Petersen!
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