De Blasio: New York City ready for snowstorm
A service truck sits with plow at the ready at the Manhattanville Bus Depot in Manhattan. (Jan. 2, 2014) Credit: MTA
With a winter storm projected to dump from 4 to 8 inches of snow on New York City overnight, Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday sought to reassure residents that his new administration was prepared.
"Any way you slice it, I intend to be on top of the action," de Blasio said a news conference with Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty, a holdover from Michael Bloomberg's administration, who is staying on at least through the winter.
Doherty said 450 salt-spreading vehicles will be sent out as needed, and de Blasio said 1,700 plows will be attached to city trucks, ready to plow 6,000 miles of streets. The PlowNYC feature on the city's website, nyc.gov, will also be activated so residents can monitor which streets have been cleared.
Alternate-side parking was suspended Thursday and Friday, and the decision on whether to close public schools may be made in the morning as a "game-time decision," de Blasio said.
"We have literally all hands on deck," he said, speaking at NYPD headquarters after NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton was sworn in.
De Blasio urged motorists to stay off the streets to make it easier for plows to operate and to avoid dangerous conditions created by heavy winds and snow drifts. He also asked the public to check on neighbors who may be impacted by the extreme cold expected Friday, and encouraged the homeless to head to city shelters.
The mayor was to meet with city commissioners at 4 p.m. to discuss the storm at the Office of Emergency Management's situation room in Brooklyn.
"We have to get it right; there's no question about it," de Blasio said of storm response.
