Andrew Cuomo

Tease the day: Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. helps defuse a potential border dispute

Hurricane Irene came and went, but not without leaving a major impact. Properties were destroyed, people were killed, and homes were flooded. New York City closed its public transportation system for the first time in history and evacuated over 370,000 of its citizens. Before the storm hit, eight states had declared states of emergency, with President Obama weighing in with added measures on some states, such as North Carolina, New Jersey and New York who were anticipating potentially greater risk.

Back in September 2010, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg took a position in favour of building a mosque near Ground Zero and, in so doing, joined a highly emotional debate that swept the nation. He didn’t back away when the controversy became a national one, taking a principled stance as mayor of the city that was the subject of an unspeakable terrorist attack. This was a leadership moment.