STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (PIX11) — Three days after a blizzard buried New York City, parts of the city are still digging out.
Staten Island received nearly twice the amount of snow, with some areas measuring more than two feet.
Some residents say the cleanup is far from over.
Towering snow piles line residential streets, with some neighbors referring to them as “icebergs.”
While crews have made visible progress in certain areas, other blocks remain choked by mounds of compacted snow and ice that could linger for days.
“We haven’t seen snow like this since I was pregnant, that was 30 years ago,” said Lisa, a longtime resident.
For many, clearing a path has been a marathon, not a sprint. One homeowner said it took three days just to carve out enough space to move a car.
Josephine, who returned home to Staten Island from a Florida trip just as the storm cleanup was underway, found herself grateful for neighborly goodwill.
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“I have great neighbors that left us a nice clean walkway when we got home,” she said.
After residents voiced frustration that their borough was being overlooked, the city redirected additional resources to Staten Island. According to the New York City Department of Sanitation, more than 700 personnel and pieces of equipment worked overnight into Wednesday, shoveling, plowing, and hauling away 87 dump truck loads of snow.
On streets off Huguenot Avenue and Avon Green, snow piles have grown so large that they occupy significant portions of roadways.
On Daffodil Court, Jill said a massive mound in the middle of the street has made daily routines difficult.
“If my neighbors come home and they park their car, I get trapped in my home,” she said.
Across the borough, some two-way residential streets have effectively become one-lane corridors, with snowbanks squeezing traffic and limiting parking.
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City officials say Staten Island’s hilly and winding streets require a different snow removal approach compared to other boroughs. The nearly 30 inches of accumulation posed unique logistical challenges.
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said more trucks and personnel were deployed Tuesday night, but acknowledged the need for future planning.
“We need different approaches and strategies,” he said. “We need to sit down and say, what are we going to do next time?”
Crews are clearing bus stops and intersections in all the boroughs, and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is addressing roughly 1,800 reports of downed trees and limbs.
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