THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 27, 2002

Sanitation Department Is Ready
For Upcoming Wintry Weather
by Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty
 New York’s snow season is in full gear. In fact, the city has already had its first plowable snow.
Although the last few winters have come and gone like a lamb, no one can forget winter’s roar in the 1995-96 season when 16 storms dumped more than 7.5 feet of snow on the Big Apple.
Snow is a prime example of how beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Throughout the years, poets have sung to the ephemeral quality of the season’s first flakes, floating and twisting in the wind. Our reputation as ultimate pragmatists notwithstanding, New Yorkers do admire the beauty of the first snow of the season, the enchanted early-morning charm of white streets and lawns, and the eerie quiet of the city’s din muffled by snow. After a big storm, the young and the old—armed with skis, sleighs or even kitchen trays—headed for Central Park and Prospect Park to play on their white dunes. And all of us love the idea of the ultimate postcard scene of sharing a holiday feast with our families while outside soft white flakes cover roofs and treetops. It conjures up the joyful chorus of “Let it snow, Let it snow...”
But, this being New York City, after a few hours of admiring the fresh fallen snow, we are on the move again. And as poetic and magical that snowfall appeared to us the night before, on a Monday morning it is just a nuisance that can slow us down or, worse, stop us in our tracks. Regardless of the weather, New Yorkers expect stock markets, banks, theaters and schools to be up and running.
Above all, we expect streets and sidewalks to be clear of ice and snow so we can all get around.
After a snowstorm, New Yorkers turn their attention to the only thing that stands between a paralyzed city and life as usual: the Department of Sanitation. We start preparing early. On November 11, the Sanitation began its Annual Night Plow Operation that enables us to respond promptly and efficiently to snow and ice conditions, day or night.
For the next five months, garbage or recyclables will be collected during the 7 a.m.–3 p.m., 4 p.m.–midnight or the seasonal midnight–8 a.m. shift in different sections of the city. By adding a third shift during the winter months, we ensure our crews are always in place so that, if snow starts to fall, our workforce can immediately change from collection to snow removal mode. Since we are aware that night collection may temporarily inconvenience some neighborhoods, we have asked our crews to work as quietly as possible.
In a city as large as ours, ice and snow removal requires that we prioritize our resources by starting on primary arteries (highways, commercial and bus routes); then moving to secondary roads (heavily traveled streets); and last but not least, by tackling tertiary routes (dead-end and side streets).
Here are some facts that might describe the magnitude of our effort. The Department has 33 salt-storage facilities throughout the city with a storage capacity of 256,000 tons of rock salt and 190,000 gallons of calcium chloride. Once snow begins to fall, we mobilize our 353 salt spreaders. When snow begins to accumulate, we can fit approximately 2,000 plows on to the department’s collection truck and spreader fleets to clear city highways and streets. We even have 10 snow melters stationed in all five boroughs in the event of major snowfalls.
And we work around the clock until the city gets back to normal.
But, just like anything else in a densely populated city, government agencies can only do so much. No city is perfectly clean nor its sidewalks absolutely clear of ice and snow without everyone’s cooperation.
Here’s how New Yorkers can help, whether they are homeowners, lessees, tenants, occupants or persons in charge of any building or lot:
•You must clean snow and/or ice from our sidewalks within four hours after the snow has stopped falling, or by 11 a.m. if the snow stopped falling after 9 p.m. the night before;
•If the snow or ice becomes frozen and hard and cannot be removed you may spread a de-icer, sand, sawdust or another similarly suitable material on the sidewalk, all within the same time limits;
•You should shovel snow from around fire hydrants in front of your property. It will help firefighters; and
You should never shovel the snow from your sidewalk or around your car back in to the street. We’ll only have to plow it again.
The bottom line is sidewalks must be thoroughly cleaned as soon as the weather permits.
Just like everyone else, I hope that this winter comes and goes like a lamb. But, wishful thinking aside, if we get lots of snow, be assured that the men and women of the Department of Sanitation are ready. In this way, New Yorkers will be able to both admire the beauty of the show and go about their normal lives.
For more information on snow removal, call the Sanitation Action Center at 1-212-219-8090 or surf to www.nyc.gov/sanitation.