New York City mayor Eric Adams has issued a drought watch. The mandate comes after the city’s second-longest rainless streak ever recorded for the month of October. The announcement caught many by surprise, and social media was flooded (sorry) with a deluge (sorry again) of rumors about just what an official drought watch means for the average New Yorker. Below are some of the most persistent rumors and their veracity.
Instead of once a month, the city’s pushcart vendors are now only required to change the hot-dog water every other month. True
With many New Yorkers opting to shower less to conserve water, the M.T.A. has quietly begun hanging little pine-scented air fresheners in the shape of tiny Christmas trees in all city subway cars. True
The city is days away from alternate-side-of-the-street flushing. False
The drought proved to be the final nail in the coffin for a beloved Brooklyn store, Just Galoshes. True
Donald Trump tweeted that if New York doesn’t have significant rainfall soon, on his first day in office he will lock up Al Roker. True
Water has become so scarce, it is now physically impossible to drown in a New York City reservoir. False
Since the election, many Democrats are conserving water by forgoing it in their scotch-and-water cocktails. True
Subway police are reporting that muggers are leaving iPhones but taking Yeti water bottles. False
Former governor Andrew Cuomo has urged Mayor Adams to help New Yorkers living in the drought zone by instituting a “Buy Back Umbrellas” program. True
You can now pay off members of the Adams administration with cases of Poland Spring. True
John Ficarra is a former editor of Mad magazine
