Gusts of wind blast the hapless officials

On Sunday afternoon, Assemblywoman Grace Meng's congressional campaign held a "unity rally" with a plethora of local elected officials, including Senator Chuck Schumer, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and outgoing Congressman Gary Ackerman. But Hurricane Sandy's gusts of wind were already bombarding the rally as the officials gathered, making life just a tad more difficult. Volunteers kept having campaign signs blown out of their hands, for example.

"Good afternoon everyone, thank you so much for coming out  here today," Ms. Meng said to begin her speech, standing in the plaza in front of the Queens Crossing Mall in Flushing. "Days ago, when we planned this rally, we really did think it was a good idea. And in light of the fact of the weather, we thought, 'What better way than to make sure elected officials keep their speeches under 2 minutes than to hold it in the middle of a hurricane?'"

Indeed, Ms. Meng's plan seemed to have worked.

"I'm going to be super quick because there's about to be a hurricane, apparently," Mr. de Blasio said to boost the Democratic assemblywoman's qualities. "Everybody please be careful, be safe. And then, on Wednesday, we get back out and campaign again. There should be a good political hurricane a week later when we elect Grace Meng to Congress!"

Ms. Meng is running against GOP Councilman Dan Halloran for the northeastern Queens district.