Residents Digging Themselves Out

Nearly 24 hours after the snow subsided, the neighborhood is still a veritable winter wonderland, with many streets left unplowed and abandoned cars shining bright with snow.

Though major thoroughfares have been cleared, residents still struggle to make it down side streets. Complaints abound, but mostly residents are just trying to make the best of a bad situation.

Nancy Haragan, visiting from Baltimore, decided not to wait around for the city to plow Cheever Street where her car was stuck. Instead, she paid a private plow to dig her out.

"I had no chance of getting out and I need to get home!" she said.

Some residents don't see the point in placing blame.

"People are giving Bloomberg a bad wrap, it's just the second day now," said Pat Murphy a resident of Strong Place, a one-block long tertiary street between Kane and Degraw streets. "By the third day we'll be all set."

"It's too easy to criticize," he added.

Murphy was trying to help dig out an Access-a-Ride vehicle that had been stranded on Degraw Street for two-days. Up ahead was a stranded Subaru, the culprits, he said.

"All these jerks with 4-wheel drive think they can go anywhere and they can't," he said.

The city agrees. Earlier today Mayor Bloomberg held a press conference with top city and emergency response officials on the city's response to the blizzard. The major problem, officials said, has been with abandoned vehicles in streets, which make it impossible for tow trucks to plow.

Bloomberg said the city is doing everything they can to quickly plow the streets including utilizing the trucks and vehicles of other city agencies and hiring private tow trucks to assist.

"It takes longer to dig out and tow than to plow," he said. "Until we can dig those out, plows can't do anything."

Bloomberg said the NYPD and other authorized tow trucks had already towed approximately 1,000 vehicles from the Gowanus, Van Wyck and Cross Bronx Expressways alone, and that 108 ambulances had been cleared from streets. As of 9:30 a.m., 40 were still stuck across the city.

In total, 200 workers and 1700 plows are clearing the streets, Bloomberg said, adding that in South Brooklyn, 8 additional tow trucks have been deployed.

Additionally, responsibility is being spread amongst various emergency responders. Police are working with emergency medical responders by taking people to the hospital, when they can and it's medically appropriate.

"We're trying to assist in expediting people to the hospital, taking people in police cars rather than having unnecessary delays" said Captain Jack Lewis from the "We're trying to assist as best we can."

Local elected officials are angry about the city's response to the post-Christmas blizzard. Though Mayor Bloomberg has continually defended the city response to the storm, Councilmember Stephen Levin expressed disappointment and outrage over the lack of response.

"It is unacceptable that, a full day after the storm, major avenues throughout my district have yet to see a snow plow," said Levin in a statement. "Clearly, City Hall and the leadership at the Sanitation Department were entirely unprepared for a storm of this magnitude, and we are all paying the price for that now."

Levin's office has received well over 100 complaint calls, according to a spokesperson.

Councilmember Brad Lander's office received more than 60 complaint calls today according to a spokesperson. The office is asking people to call with issues and information on stuck emergency vehicles and abandoned cars.

Lander's office added that they are working hard to bring complaints to the attention of the Department of Sanitation and the Office of Emergency Management. After speaking with the Department of Sanitation, Lander's office is not optimistic about the city getting all of the side streets clear by the end of the day. 

But for 50-year resident Brigid, (who only wanted to give her first name), the storm wasn't so bad.

"I've seen worse, this is nothing," she said.

Emergency response was an issue of major concern to residents living on un-plowed blocks. Bloomberg said this would be looked at.

"Too many ambulances went down blocked streets, once it got in, it couldn't get out," he said, adding that more training on "those kinds of lines" was a city priority.

Bloomberg called on New Yorkers to remain "patient."

"Nobody suggests this is easy or pleasurable," he said. "We will pull together."

Bloomberg said in another 24 hours the city should be mostly cleaned up.

"But I'm not so sure," he added.

Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty said 24-hours was reasonable in "some places."

In response to questions about long waits and slow city response, Bloomberg said complaints are subjective.

"If your street was plowed, the response was adequate, if your street wasn't plowed, the response was inadequate," he said.