The following press release was sent to West Side Rag by the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) on Monday afternoon. It contains all the transportation information you’ll need in the event of a storm.
“The New York City Department of Sanitation has issued a Snow Alert for Monday, February 27, beginning at 4 p.m. The alert is in effect through 9 a.m. Tuesday, February 28. A Snow Alert is the Department’s “higher-level” winter weather message, as opposed to the “lower-level” Winter Operations Advisory.
Based on current forecasts, 2 to 5” of slush or wet snow is possible. The snow is expected to mix with sleet late Monday before becoming a mix of rain and sleet by early Tuesday morning. All winter weather information and information about the City’s response to the storm can be found by visiting the City’s Severe Weather website at www.nyc.gov/severeweather or by calling 311.
In a Snow Alert, the Department coordinates with NYC Emergency Management and the Department of Transportation on snow clearing protocol in accordance with each agency’s written snow plan. All relevant city agencies have been notified of the Snow Alert.
Operations Update
The Department’s workers and equipment are prepared. The full fleet of over 700 salt spreaders will be positioned and ready to operate starting at 4 p.m. The forecast indicates that this is an appropriate event for the use of brine, and the Department is already placing this liquid pretreatment on roadways. Additionally, the Department’s collection trucks will be turned into snow plows, ready to plow once two inches of snow has fallen. The Department has more than 2,000 plowable vehicles. The Department is fully stocked with over 700 million pounds of salt.
Trash/Recycling Collection:
No delays to collection are anticipated at this time. Residents may put material out at the curb following their normal schedule.
Alternate Side Parking
Alternate Side Parking regulations will be suspended on Tuesday, February 28. Parking meters will remain in effect.
Guidance for Open Restaurants
Open Restaurants roadway dining may operate as normal during this snow event if the business owner deems it is safe to do so. To prevent damage from the weight of snow, restaurants should remove the tops of structures if possible or regularly clear snow off, without putting it back into the street. Restaurant owners may find additional information to prepare their spaces for snow at https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pedestrians/openrestaurants.shtml.
Protected Bike Lanes
The City takes the safe passage of our bicycle infrastructure seriously, especially for the essential workers who need to be out in any weather. Protected bike lanes will be pretreated with brine and cleared concurrently with car lanes. Property owners may not move snow from sidewalks into bike lanes.
Snow Clearing Information
As a reminder, property owners, including restaurants with outdoor dining structures, may NOT push snow into the street, including bike lanes. This impedes snow clearing operations and is illegal. Snow may be moved against the building, to the curb line, or areas on private property. Sidewalks should be passable for all pedestrians, including a minimum 4-foot clear path, where possible.
New Yorkers are also encouraged to sign up for Notify NYC, the City’s free emergency notification system. Through Notify NYC, New Yorkers can sign up to receive phone calls, text messages, and emails alerts about severe weather events and emergencies. To sign up for Notify NYC, call 311, visit www.nyc.gov or follow @NotifyNYC on Twitter.
Find information on Sanitation snow operations along with residents’ responsibilities during and after snow at nyc.gov/snow.”
And read West Side Rag’s inside look at DSNY’s snow preparations here.
Interesting that DSNY makes no mention of clearing access at bus stops – but an entire section on bike lanes.
Wow.
DSNY apparently isn’t responsible for this. The DoT contracted out clearing of bus shelters to JC Decaux (the company that places adverts on them). Before that it was a Spanish advertising company named CEMUSA who were pretty good at not clearing anything.
https://www.nyc.gov/assets/mopd/downloads/pdf/Snow-Removal-2020.pdf
James,
Would you know what happens to bus stops that don’t have a shelter?
Seems to me if DSNY is instructing property owners in this advisory, that there should be advisement about bus stops.
Though I doubt it will snow much, it continues to be clear that bus riders don’t count. Bicyclists are well represented by the well-funded bicycle lobby
Not a clue. I spent some time searching, but didn’t find anything. Probably not a good sign…
Nothing here about homeless people or their encampments. Will the DSNY switch from trashing tents to just removing snow that may have accumulated on and around the tents?
The city of New York spends Billions on homeless. New York City is not a campground. No one has the right to setup a tent on public property. I’m not unsympathetic towards the homeless. There are many options that don’t include tents in NYC.
I will never forget the blizzard of December 2010 when NYC Sanitation staged a slow down and many people died as a result. Disgusting.
A bad union tactic.
I wonder if schools decide to do a snow day
For a couple of inches of snow? Why?
Individual people may experience delays getting to school but there’s no reason to shut down the system for a very minor storm .