Outrage after a few inches of snow brings NYC to a halt
A few inches of snow brought chaos and massive traffic to New York City roads on Thursday — prompting a storm of criticism for the city’s response to the wintry weather.
“Hearing reports from all over the city about slow response to today’s storm and I’ve seen downed trees outside of each event I’ve attended tonight,” New York City council speaker Corey Johnson, a Democrat from Manhattan, wrote on Twitter. “I’m working to get in touch with DSNY to get some answers because this is unacceptable. Stay safe out there everyone.”
Traffic backed up for hours across New York as numerous streets went unplowed, but was especially bad in Upper Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island.
A city councilwoman from the Bronx was stuck for hours in the traffic, and vented about the city’s response from her car Thursday evening.
“I’m tired, hungry, running out of gas and patience, I have to use the bathroom, I’m still stuck in traffic BUT I’m safe!” Vanessa Gibson, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter. “Only God to thank for that because of the HORRIBLE response to today’s snowstorm! This is beyond ridiculous and completely UNACCEPTABLE! Just terrible!”
The snowstorm barreled into the city on Thursday afternoon, and ended up dropping some 6 inches on the city at Central Park after the forecast originally called for about 1 to 3 inches.
When asked about the turmoil, City Hall referred questions to the Sanitation Department — which on Wednesday said it had issued a “snow alert” to the “relevant city agencies” to be ready for the storm.
In a statement, the department said it originally sent out some 700 salt spreaders, but “The afternoon snowfall was much heavier than had been forecast by all weather outlets requiring that we deploy plows.”
It said, however, “complicating” matters were the closures of the George Washington Bridge and the Bayonne Bridge, which delayed plowing.
Other elected officials joined Gibson and Johnson in heaping blame on the city for the botched response.
“Somebody dropped the ball. No way a few inches of slush should bring the greatest city in the world to its knees,” Democratic councilman Justin Brannan, of Brooklyn, wrote on Twitter.
Scott Stringer, the city comptroller and fellow Democrat, added: “The City clearly didn’t properly prepare for tonight’s snowstorm — it’s a mess.”
Republican state assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, who challenged Bill de Blasio for mayor, said: “It is clear our Mayor and his commissioners were not prepared for today’s snowfall.