New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared a local state of emergency on Sunday, as the region braces for its first dangerous blizzard in just over a decade.
All non-essential vehicles have been ordered off New York City streets from 9 p.m. Sunday to 12 p.m. Monday, local time.
During this period, streets, highways, bridges and tunnels are closed to regular vehicular traffic.
Subway lines will remain in operation, while Long Island Rail Road service will shut down Sunday evening, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
New York City schools have also been given a snow day for Monday.
New York City officials declared a local state of emergency, including widespread travel restrictions, as the city prepares for a historic blizzard on February 22 (Getty)
“The safety of New Yorkers is my top priority,” the mayor said in a statement. “As this blizzard moves in, our administration is mobilizing every tool at our disposal, around the clock, to keep our neighbors safe.”
Warming centers and mobile warming units will be accessible citywide.
A National Weather Service (NWS) blizzard warning remains in effect until Monday at 6 p.m. The city could be hit with between 17 and 24 inches of additional snow with wind gusts as high as 60 mph.
“Travel should be restricted to emergencies only,” the NWS warned in a Sunday forecast. “If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle.”
The heaviest snows from the approaching “nor’easter” storm are expected overnight.
Previously, the city hadn’t been under a blizzard warning since 2017. In 2016, a record-breaking blizzard hit New York with up to 27.5 inches of snow in some places, and at least 18 people died.
A blizzard warning is in effect until 6 p.m. February 23 (Getty)
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday declared a state of emergency for Albany, Bronx, Columbia, Greene, Delaware, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Schenectady, Schoharie, Sullivan, Ulster, Westchester and contiguous counties.
In a news conference, Hochul warned of the approaching “cataclysmic” weather, describing how the forecast had been upgraded from run-of-the-mill February conditions to a “dangerous, fast-moving, potentially life-threatening winter storm.”
“It’s time to brace for impact, New Yorkers,” she said.
The governor has activated 100 members of the National Guard to support response operations across New York City, Long Island and the Lower Hudson Valley.
More than 5,600 utility workers are on standby.
Blizzard warnings are in effect in cities and coastal areas across New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Major airlines including Delta, American and United have grounded flights into New York City and Boston.
A blizzard warning went into effect as New Yorkers continued to contend with snowfall from a January storm that is believed to have killed an estimated 26 people (AFP via Getty)
The incoming blizzard comes roughly one month after a major winter storm battered New York City, which was still thawing out as massive amounts of snow were dumped across the boroughs before more began to fall on Sunday.
At least 26 New Yorkers are believed to have died in the January storm, which dumped almost a foot and a half of snow in parts of the tri-state area, according to officials.
The weather event was an early test for the recently elected Mamdani, a former state assemblyman without prior executive government experience. Mamdani, who entered office last month, appeared to defy the critics of his administration’s response to the storm as emergency crews contended with large piles of snow on streets and sidewalks and delays in collecting garbage.
“People are going to get cranky. We have not had a cold stretch like this in a while. And the snow, which was lovely to look at three weeks ago, made it hard to remove trash and is now dirty,” Howard Wolfson, a former deputy mayor under New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, told Politico earlier this week.
“On the one hand, it’s hard to blame the mayor for the weather,” he said. “On the other, the buck stops with City Hall.”