Lydia Callis charmed New Yorkers with her animated signing of Mayor Bloomberg’s dire warnings during Hurricane Sandy, but the sign-language interpreter didn’t enjoy her sudden fame (or SNL caricature) all that much. “I was like, when is it over?” she tells the New York Times. “Seriously, when is this going to die down? Wow, people just really don’t know much about the deaf community.” Nevertheless, Callis has tried to use the public attention for good. She now leads regular tours for the deaf at the New York Public Library’s building on Fifth Avenue, and she’s been lobbying officials from other institutions to offer more services for the hard of hearing.
