Archive: 10 years since Bill de Blasio dropped Staten Island Chuck

Groundhog Day 2024 marks 10 years since then-NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped Staten Island Chuck. The groundhog, a stand-in for Chuck named Charlotte, died days later. The death of Staten Island Chuck and the political scandal that followed remains part of de Blasio's legacy, something the former mayor acknowledged in an interview with New York Magazine last year. "Why would you want an elected official to hold a groundhog?" de Blasio said. "I don’t know anything about holding groundhogs. So the whole thing is just insane." Groundhogs are no longer held during predictions at Staten Island Zoo.