Politics & Government

Bloomberg: This Time We Handled the Snow

Mayor touts city's clean-up efforts, urges New Yorkers to do what they can to help finish the job.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg touted the city’s clean-up efforts and urged New Yorkers to do what they could to help finish the job at a City Hall news conference this morning.

Nineteen inches of snow fell in Central Park overnight, bringing the grand snow total for January to 36 inches. January is officially the snowiest month on record, breaking the last high, set in 1925, Bloomberg said.

But despite the onslaught, this clean-up was far smoother than after the , Bloomberg said, when streets remained unplowed and ambulances couldn’t treat ailing residents.

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Although “dozens” of ambulances did get stuck last night, they were either towed out or the patients were transferred to other ambulances, he said. All hospitals remained open, he added.

In all, there were 1,700 Department of Sanitation snowplows out cleaning the streets, plus several hundred more from other city departments. The city also rented 128 backhoes, bobcats and other equipment to help with the job and 1,500 people to shovel out bus stops and crosswalks, Bloomberg said.

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“All primary streets and highways have received at least one pass of the plow – and we’re now working on secondary and some tertiary streets,” he said, adding that he expects all streets to be clear by tomorrow morning.

After praising the city’s record, Bloomberg suggested ways New Yorkers could help:

  • Clear your sidewalk quickly, but take it slow if you’re not used to the exercise (He didn’t mention fines, but New York City residents are required to clear their sidewalks within four hours after the snow stops or risk a ticket.);
  • Offer to help others shovel. You can find opportunities to do this at nyc.gov. You should also check on and offer to help elderly neighbors with grocery shopping or other needs;
  • Dig out fire hydrants if you can, saving firefighters precious minutes;
  • When you shovel out your car, try to put the snow on the sidewalk, not in the middle of the street;
  • Keep 911 calls to absolute emergencies;
  • If you can, go to the 311 website instead of calling 311 with questions.


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