CITY HALL — Mayor Zohran Mamdani applauded city workers Monday for their response to this weekend’s winter storm.
The mayor declined to provide himself a letter grade during a City Hall press briefing but touted the overall city response to the storm that brought more than 10 inches of snow to much of the five boroughs.
“I will leave it to New Yorkers to give me a grade. I will, however, say that I am incredibly impressed and appreciative of the work of the city workers, both their leadership here and all of them who are out there across New York City,” Mamdani said. “We want our government to be a responsive one.”
Shortly before 10 a.m. Monday, a review of the city’s PlowNYC online application, which tracks plowing efforts across the five boroughs, showed that most of Staten Island had been plowed within the past three hours. The online application showed similar responses across the five boroughs.
Mamdani said that it was too early to tell if the storm led directly to the deaths of seven New Yorkers on Sunday and Monday but that “some” had come into contact with the city shelter system in the past.
Overall, the city Department of Homeless Services placed 170 people into shelter ahead of the storm. A “code blue” went into effect Thursday evening ahead of the storm allowing for more efficient placement of homeless New Yorkers in the shelter system.
Most city public school students had a remote-learning day Monday, but the mayor has yet to announce a final decision on school’s reopening Tuesday. Complaints about the virtual learning experience have been minimal and Mamdani shared no major issues Monday morning.
Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson said a review of 311 complaints from previous storms allowed the city to better address snowfall outside properties it owns.
“We specifically wanted to focus on complaints around properties that we own to make sure that we’re doing our part,” Kerson said Monday. “We want to make sure we’re doing our part as we’re asking New Yorkers to do their part.”
The Department of Sanitation will begin issuing fines for unshoveled properties starting 12:30 p.m. Monday.
Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, reported snowfall totals ranging from 10 to 12 inches across Staten Island as of Sunday evening.
Overnight sleet brought an additional layer of icy precipitation that has made for difficult shoveling around the five boroughs.
Forecasters expect the week’s frigid temperatures to keep that snow and sleet accumulation around for a while, and another storm could be headed the city’s way this weekend.