Photo: Courtesy of the subject

Drivers who failed to dig out while the snow from our late-January storm was still soft are now contending with thick walls of ice cocooning their vehicles. And while there’s something almost sculptural about the mounds that have formed around these frozen cars, something has to give eventually. Unless people are willing to surrender their Subarus to the earth, they will have to dig out. Or pay someone else to. For the determined, liberating people’s cars from the ice can mean a quick source of income. We chatted with Danny, an unemployed tech worker living in Greenpoint, who is cleaning up around the city — both in the literal sense and the sense that he charges a minimum of $119 per dig. “Depending on how deep the vehicle is buried,” per his flyer.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How did you become a dig-out guy? 
My background is in user experience design. The downturn of the tech industry over the past 12 months and trying to get a job has been pretty crazy, so I had actually gone down to sign up for emergency snow removal with the Department of Sanitation back in December. My name was on the list and I was ready to go out and shovel some snow, but they weren’t calling. So I was like, I guess I gotta take this into my own hands. Then I saw somebody put a post up on Reddit last week offering a snow-shoveling type gig. I think it was a couple of neighborhood kids hustling. I was like, I think I could probably do that a little bit better. I figured I could make a couple bucks. So I went to make my own poster and put it on the Greenpoint and Williamsburg sub-Reddit. The first few days people were calling mainly for buildings and sidewalks. But after that, it became clear that once the plows came through and we were up to day three, day four … everybody was asking for these car dig-outs.

So then you just focused on that.
When I realized this was the exact niche people wanted, I redid the ad and put out a second ad that just said I do car dig-outs. Since I have a design background there was some intention to keep it looking like something that would be on the bulletin board of a garage. That’s when people really started calling in. They’re still calling in.

Photo: Courtesy of the subject

Photo: Courtesy of the subject

How long does it take you to dig out a car?
A big job is anywhere from one to two hours. We’re talking about anywhere from one to two feet of thick ice packed up against people’s cars.

Do you have any special techniques?
I started out with a plastic shovel that I borrowed from my landlord. But as I got into the car dig-outs, I needed something tougher for ice. So I got a metal shovel from a friend in the neighborhood. As far as the technique goes, you just chop it, break it up, then move it out. I also like to start a little bit later because it’s good to let the sun hit everything for a couple of hours.

Any obstacles to a good dig-out?
I’ve been dealing with a lot of traffic right behind my back. I had to jump out of the way of a garbage truck that was coming down the block. He pumped his lights and tapped his horn and I jumped into a snowbank and landed on my knee the wrong way. So I had to get an X-ray at Bellevue a day and a half ago.

That’s rough! Have there been any jobs you didn’t take?
I’ve only had one so far that I’ve turned away. I got a call from Manhattan and this guy had an Escalade on Houston Street. I went to the site, but it was too big of a job. There was literally one to two tons of snow surrounding his car. That’s not hyperbole. I’m thinking, Maybe don’t park your Escalade on Houston Street right before a snow storm.

Fair enough. 
I wanted to do it, but the traffic conditions were bad. Between the size of the job and the safety conditions, I couldn’t risk it.

Better safe than sorry. How many cars have you done so far?
Somewhere between 15 to 20.

How much have you made? 
I’m going to keep that to myself. It’s in the thousands.

Do you think you’re going to keep getting calls?
We’re ten days out from the storm. You walk around all the blocks around my neighborhood and on every block there’s at least four or five cars that need this. It’s going to dip again tonight, and then tomorrow into the weekend I think we might get more snow.

Are you keeping an eye for what might happen when Alternate Side Parking resumes?
Yeah, I’ve been watching that too. You know, it’s funny. I don’t even have a car. I don’t even drive.

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