Mayor Bill De Blasio held one of his regular "it's snowing, what the hell else is new?" press conferences this afternoon, praising New Yorkers for their resilience while also begging them to open their veins and let their potent blood flow free. "We've had this string of storms, and a lot of the blood donations that normally come in have not happened," de Blasio said. "So we have a very serious situation on our hands where we need blood donations and we need them quickly... If you are able to donate blood, please do so."

This website has all the info you need about donating blood. The mayor also updated New Yorkers on the storm, announcing that roughly 4" of snow fell overnight before the precipitation changed to sleet or freezing rain. "We can expect very icy conditions" as the temperature drops over the next couple of days, de Blasio warned, but added, "We're in a good place looking forward to the storm this weekend." BRING IT ON!

450 salt spreaders were dispatched last night before the storm began, according to the mayor, who said that drivers are working 12 hour shifts, and 1,700 snow-related vehicles are now out on the streets. As for the Governor's warning of a salt shortage, Papa de Blasio said everything's gonna be just fiiine. "At this moment we feel very good about our supply given the storm coming up," de Blasio declared. Just don't ask about the storm coming up after the next one comes up.

And for anyone out there who may be fed up with all this shit and find themselves fantasizing about sitting at the end of a dock on, say, Biscayne Bay, de Blasio urges you to sack up and remember the words of former Mayor Ed Koch: "At age 88 I wake up every morning and say to myself 'Well I'm still in New York, thank you God.' " As the orchestra behind him rose to a strident crescendo, de Blasio added:

Even when I knew that snow shovel was waiting for me, I still felt that great gratitude that I was a New Yorker. We're tough, we're resilient, and we actually care about each other a lot more than the world believes about us.

Let's face it: this is a city that is no stranger to adversity. As New Yorkers we don't give in in the face of challenges. People have taken this series of storms in stride... People know how to handle anything that's thrown at them.

YEAAAAAAH! Now let's get back out there in the third quarter and show this weather it has no idea who it's messing with! We're all in this together, so HOLD THE ROPE!

(With Scott Heins)