Staten Island Chuck Sees Swift Switch To Spring

Staten Island Chuck — the borough’s answer to Punxsutawney Phil — emerged from his stump and did not see his shadow, leading true believers to expect an early Spring:

Charles G. Hogg the 6th, better known as Staten Island Chuck, has rendered his verdict.

During a festive debut at the Staten Island Zoo in West Brighton this morning, Chuck emerged from a hollow tree stump — with a little nudging from his handler Doug Schwartz — at around 7:30 a.m. and gave the people what they wanted: The prediction of an early spring.

“Chuck did not see his shadow,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) who presided over this morning’s ceremony with the tuxedo-wearing Advance Editor Brian J. Laline. “Get out your shorts and T-shirts. Spring is coming early.”

. . .

To prepare for his moment in the spotlight this morning, Chuck spent yesterday being pampered by Schwartz, who groomed his fur and gave him his favorite supper of carrots and broccoli.

Last year, Charles the 6th’s predecessor and father, Charles the 5th, wrongly predicted an early spring, but sent a poem from his retirement in sunny Florida, which was read by Schumer and Laline. The pair were jubilant that last year’s unfortunate weather miscalculation would be put to rest.

. . .

According to the Staten Island Zoo, Charles and his predecessors have been fairly accurate meteorologists since 1981. They have been correct 21 of the last 26 years, missing the mark in 1984, 1992, 1998, 2001 and 2005.

Chuck’s chief rival, Punxsutawney Phil of Pennsylvania, a well-known meteorological hero, scored last year with his accurate prediction of six more weeks of cold weather.

It seems the groundhogs are going head-to-head again this year as Phil was aroused this morning to announce that winter is sticking around for a while.

“We just received a bulletin from Pennsylvania,” said John Caltabiano, Zoo executive director. “Phil just predicted six more weeks of winter. What does he know?”