Good afternoon, New York City.
Yesterday, the snowstorm of the decade arrived, with winds of up to 60 miles per hour, and more than two feet of snow falling across parts of our city.
In some parts of Staten Island and the Bronx, this storm set new 24-hour records for recorded snowfall.
The forecast for today is dry, with some wind. There is a chance of some additional light snow tomorrow morning—with a maximum of two inches—as a fast-traveling system moves over our city.
Today, New York is back up and running thanks to the city workers who worked long shifts to clear our streets, keep our public transit running and respond to emergencies—as well as the everyday New Yorkers who did their parts to shovel sidewalks, clear a neighbor’s stoop and stayed off the roads when conditions were hazardous.
This was a whole of government response to a historic snowstorm.
2,600 sanitation workers, working in successive 12-hour shifts, utilized over 3,000 pieces of equipment to distribute over 143 million pounds of salt, and to plow every single street across all five boroughs at least once.
Alongside 1,214 Emergency Shovelers, they cleared 7,398 crosswalks, 1,777 fire hydrants, and 3,366 bus stops—although due to blowing snow after the storm, many will need to be readdressed. That work continues today.
If you want to support these efforts, it’s not too late to become an Emergency Snow Shoveler. You can still sign up by walking into any DSNY garage until 8PM tonight. All you need is two forms of identification and you’ll be paid $30 an hour.
Thanks to these teams’ hard work, school is back in session today.
I know that there are some who were concerned by the decision to return to in-person learning. I want to explain the reasoning behind it.
First, New York’s public schools were not in a position to facilitate remote instruction.
With students coming back from midwinter break, it was not possible to ensure every student had the devices they needed to effectively participate in remote learning.
Second, our public schools hold a purpose beyond providing a designated place for kids to learn.
They are critical to the health and wellness of nearly 900,000 children across our city.
Whether it’s a warm meal, essential mental health support, or a source of child care for working parents—in-person schooling is a resource that our city’s children and families depend upon.
When conditions are safe, our goal will always be to open our schools—and I want to commend the work of 8,000 DOE staff who worked throughout the weekend clearing entrances and keeping buildings warm to make sure our schools would be accessible and safe when students returned.
Though the storm may be over, that does not mean the danger to vulnerable New Yorkers has passed. Please continue to keep an eye out for anyone at risk.
An Enhanced Code Blue remains in effect through Wednesday morning.
Shelters will continue to operate with an open-door policy—no one will be turned away.
Outreach workers will continue canvassing all five boroughs to bring homeless New Yorkers inside.
Since Saturday, they’ve made 250 placements in shelters and other settings.
If you see someone in need of warmth or shelter, please call 311 immediately so outreach workers can assist.
In a Code Blue, these 311 calls are rerouted to 911.
You can also call 311 directly from our LinkNYC kiosks or use them to find the locations of warming centers across the city.
I also want to express my gratitude to the leaders standing alongside me today, the dedicated professionals manning our Emergency Operation Centers, and every agency staffer that has worked across government to serve New Yorkers.
That includes our NYPD Tow Truck Task Force, who worked to free stuck vehicles and ensured that emergency vehicles could get to New Yorkers in need.
In total, they towed 37 vehicles to safety during the storm, including 7 MTA Buses and 21 ambulances.
We have received over 1,800 reports of fallen trees, limbs down and hanging limbs citywide. The interagency Downed Trees Task Force—coordinated by the Parks Department—has been hard at work responding to these reports.
As we continue to respond to this blizzard, we are aware that narrow, hilly streets and tight corners on Staten Island were some of the areas hardest hit by the storm.
Some parts of Staten Island saw nearly 28 inches of snowfall—the largest amount recorded anywhere in the city. That, combined with high winds, have created large snow drifts across the Island.
DSNY has upped their Staten Island snow removal force to 500 personnel—a 210 person-increase—added even more pieces of hired equipment, and will be working throughout the day and the evening to clear snow and make roads passable.
Thanks to these efforts, 99.2% of roadways on Staten Island have received at least one pass from snow clearing equipment.
While New York City is steadily coming back online, there remain some interruptions to service. There will be no collection of trash today.
Collection will resume Wednesday evening on the 6PM shift.
We will be prioritizing trash and compost collection this week.
I ask New Yorkers to be patient throughout this process. Collection trucks are the same size that they’ve always been—but in many areas, twice the amount of material will be out, so delays are possible.
We expect collection will return to normal by Monday.
We expect recycling collection to resume next Monday.
Alternate Side Parking will be suspended through the end of the week. Now is the perfect time to dig your cars out, before the snow hardens into ice.
All library branches across the city are open.
City buildings are open to the public for in-person city services.
For New Yorkers relying on public transit, I recommend budgeting some extra time into your commute.
All local, limited and express buses are running with delays. There is reduced service in Staten Island, resulting in significant delays.
A number of express trains are running locally.
NYC Ferries are running on a modified weekday schedule today. Regular service will be restored tomorrow morning.
As of 5 a.m. this morning however, the Staten Island Ferry has returned to a regular weekday schedule.
As temperatures rise later this week, we will see snow and ice falling from buildings.
This can be extremely dangerous. I encourage all New Yorkers to stay alert while walking outside.
Property owners: please take steps to clear your roofs, and while doing so, make sure you are implementing proper safeguards like putting out signage or temporarily closing off the sidewalk.
I want to continue to urge New Yorkers to look after yourselves as you shovel snow. Take regular breaks, protect your back and your heart by digging slowly and, take it from me—lift from your knees.
Finally, I want to thank all the New Yorkers who exercised caution, stayed inside, and contributed to the citywide effort of keeping one another safe.
Thank you—and as always, New York, stay warm and stay safe.
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