{"id":143474,"date":"2026-02-24T04:02:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T04:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/143474\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T04:02:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T04:02:21","slug":"new-york-city-remains-under-a-state-of-emergency-mamdani-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/143474\/","title":{"rendered":"New York City remains under a state of emergency, Mamdani says"},"content":{"rendered":"

A massive snowstorm pummeled the northeast United States from Maryland to Maine on Monday, forcing millions of people to stay home amid strong winds and blizzard warnings<\/a>, transportation shutdowns<\/a>, and school and business closures. New York City remains under a state of emergency, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during an afternoon news briefing.<\/p>\n

Snow fell at a rate of 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.6 centimeters) an hour early Monday from New York through Massachusetts. Some areas have gotten well over a foot (30 centimeters) of snow since Sunday, along with wind gusts of over 30 mph (48 kph) and low visibility.<\/p>\n

More than 5,000 flights in and out of the U.S. were canceled for Monday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware<\/a>. Most were canceled in New York, New Jersey and Boston.<\/p>\n

Here’s the latest:<\/p>\n

275K still without power in Massachusetts while thousands restored in New Jersey<\/p>\n

More than 516,000 utility customers nationwide remain in darkness Monday evening after a blizzard battered the Northeast.<\/p>\n

More than half of those without power are in Massachusetts, where the storm dropped three feet of snow in some places, according to PowerOutage.us<\/a>, which tracks outages nationwide.<\/p>\n

New Jersey, in a distant second, was still dealing with nearly 80,000 customers without electricity, though that was down from more than 200,000<\/a> at the peak of the storm.<\/p>\n

Other states dealing with significant outages late Monday included Delaware and Rhode Island.<\/p>\n

NYC-area transit system slowly resuming service after blizzard<\/p>\n

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Monday evening that subway lines are mostly operational, with the exception of the hard-hit borough of Staten Island, where rail service remains suspended.<\/p>\n

The agency warned subway riders to expect delays, especially on lines that run outdoors. Bus commuters should also expect long wait times as routes will be adjusted based on road conditions and the city\u2019s longer, accordion-style buses won\u2019t be in service.<\/p>\n

Commuter rail service to suburbs to the north and east of the city, including hard-hit Long Island, are expected to resume limited service ahead of the Tuesday morning commute, the MTA said.<\/p>\n

Across the Hudson River, New Jersey Transit train and bus service remained suspended late Monday, though some light rail service was expected to resume shortly on a limited schedule, the agency said.<\/p>\n

Long Island Rail Road to resume service on a limited basis<\/p>\n

The Long Island Rail Road said service will resume on a limited basis at 4 a.m. Tuesday. Limited service would be resuming on the Ronkonkoma, Huntington, Babylon, Oyster Bay, Montauk, and Port Washington lines.<\/p>\n

The commuter rail said on its website that more details would be available soon.<\/p>\n

NYC\u2019s \u2018emergency snow shoveler\u2019 program sparks confusion and backlash over ID requirements<\/p>\n

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been touting an effort to recruit temporary shovelers<\/a> to clear crosswalks, bus stops and other public areas. \u201cAll you need to bring is two forms of ID to ensure you get paid,\u201d he said in a news conference Monday.<\/p>\n

Those who heeded the mayor\u2019s call soon learned it was more complicated. At a sanitation garage in Manhattan on Monday afternoon, four would-be shovelers were turned away by city workers, who told them they needed a Social Security card and two passport photos.<\/p>\n

When one of the women pulled up a clip from the mayor\u2019s news conference, the worker shrugged.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the city\u2019s Department of Sanitation said the city had relaxed its requirement around passport photos, but still required Social Security cards to comply with federal employment laws. He said nearly 1,500 people had successfully signed up to shovel since the blizzard began.<\/p>\n

The program \u2014 which pays $30 an hour \u2014 had already come under fire<\/a> from some conservatives, who contrasted the strict requirements for shovelers with Mamdani\u2019s opposition to voter ID laws.<\/p>\n

At least 19 locations in 5 states have at least 2 feet of snow<\/p>\n

Central Park in New York City recorded 19 inches of snow.<\/p>\n

Warwick, Rhode Island, exceeded 3 feet at 36.2 inches (92 centimeters), topping the nation so far.<\/p>\n

Central Islip on Long Island, and Somerset and Berkeley, Massachusetts, all hit 31 inches (79 centimeters).<\/p>\n

At least 19 locations in five states have at least 2 feet (0.61 meters) of snow.<\/p>\n

In Massachusetts, the highest wind gust of 83 miles per hour (133.6 kph) was in Nantucket, with hurricane-force gusts recorded all over Cape Cod.<\/p>\n

Concerns raised about NYC\u2019s decision to reopen schools after blizzard<\/p>\n

Officials in the Republican stronghold of Staten Island, which was among the hardest hit regions of New York, were among the most critical of Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s announcement that classes would resume in person Tuesday in the nation\u2019s largest school district.<\/p>\n

\u201cNumerous roads are impassable, and people have to walk in the middle of the street because the sidewalks are completely blocked by at least two feet of snow,\u201d Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said in a statement. \u201cSchools should absolutely remain closed tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The teacher\u2019s union also advised its members to exercise caution navigating the Tuesday morning commute.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one should jeopardize their safety trying to report to work,\u201d the United Federation of Teachers wrote in a letter to its members Monday. \u201cMake the decision that is best for you and your family tomorrow. Your safety comes first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most suburban districts in the area announced a second day off for students.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a lot of snow and not a lot of places to put it\u2019<\/p>\n

Rows of front stoops in Brooklyn were in various states of excavation Monday along the tree-lined streets just east of Prospect Park.<\/p>\n

But Brooklyn residents said they were happy to come together and shovel snow for themselves \u2014 as well as their neighbors.<\/p>\n

Robert Jefferson said he went to five stores on Sunday to get salt for the sidewalk, but they were all out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found one on Ocean Avenue that had salt, so I rushed over there. Didn\u2019t have dinner,\u201d he said Monday while helping his next-door neighbors, a mother and daughter, shovel their sidewalk after he finished his.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty warm out here, so the snow is not so icy. It\u2019s, you know, pretty light,\u201d he said as a city snowplow rattled down the street. \u201cBut it\u2019s a lot of snow and not a lot of places to put it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snowfall in one Rhode Island city broke a record set nearly 50 years ago<\/p>\n

The 32.8 inches (83.3 centimeters) of snow that fell by 1 p.m. Monday at Rhode Island T.F. Greene International Airport topped the previous record of 28.6 inches (72.6 centimeters) for a single snowstorm set between Feb. 6-7, 1978, according to the National Weather Service.<\/p>\n

More snow was expected for the area. The airport is in Warwick, south of Providence.<\/p>\n

Prohibition on commercial vehicle travel lifted in Connecticut<\/p>\n

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday afternoon that the \u201cworst part of the storm has passed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Democrat still urged motorists to avoid driving for the rest of the day, though. While conditions on interstate highways are improving, Lamont said local and secondary roads will take longer to clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you must travel, leave early, take it slow, and keep a good distance from the plows,\u201d Lamont said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Storm batters Delaware, damaging power lines and infrastructure<\/p>\n

Two energy companies in the state reported more than 80,000 homes lost power earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

Delaware Electric Cooperative restored power to 13,000 homes and expects to restore thousands more today, but some outages could take days to fix, the company said in a news update.<\/p>\n

Service crews from Virginia are expected to assist with restoration efforts, the company said, describing the winter weather as \u201cthe second worst storm our Co-op has faced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Delaware is currently under a state of emergency, with nonessential driving banned in most of the state.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re just doing our neighbor a kind deed\u2019<\/p>\n

The sound of shovels scraping concrete filled the air in Brooklyn as residents and businesses began clearing snow and digging out cars once the worst of the storm had passed Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Christa Prince and two others were busy with shovels and an electric snowblower.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just making a path for this car. It\u2019s not our car, but you know, we\u2019re just doing our neighbor a kind deed,\u201d Prince said.<\/p>\n

This nor\u2019easter is the strongest in a decade, meteorologists say<\/p>\n

The nor\u2019easter quickly intensified to easily qualify as a \u201cbomb cyclone\u201d and featured thundersnow and lightning \u2014 two things rarely seen in snowstorms.<\/p>\n

And while the storm was paralyzing and potentially dangerous for millions along the Eastern Seaboard, meteorologists rhapsodized over both its power and its beauty.<\/p>\n

The storm hit the \u201cGoldilocks situation\u201d of just the right temperature for wet, heavy snow \u2014 any warmer and its precipitation wouldn\u2019t have fallen as snow. And any colder and there wouldn\u2019t have been as much moisture in the air to feed that snowfall, said Owen Shieh, warning coordination meteorologist at the weather service\u2019s Weather Prediction Center in Maryland.<\/p>\n

The storm also followed the ideal track for maximum snowfall. A little farther inland and it would have lost its warm ocean energy; a bit farther out to sea, and the heaviest snow would have fallen over the water, said Jeff Masters, co-founder of Weather Underground and now meteorologist at Yale Climate Connections.<\/p>\n

Searching for people with nowhere warm to go<\/p>\n

As snow piled up across Boston, staff from New England\u2019s largest homeless services provider fanned out across the city in vans and on foot.<\/p>\n

Inside Pine Street Inn\u2019s four shelters, every bit of space was in use, said Inn spokesperson Barbara Trevisan. The organization has 585 beds across its shelters, and more than 650 people crowded the buildings Sunday into Monday \u2014 some lying on side-by-side mats filling lobbies, separated by mere inches.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily pretty,\u201d Trevisan said. \u201cBut we make sure everybody does have a safe place to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the storm intensified, outreach teams were on the streets, carrying blankets, gloves, coats, socks and drinks like hot chocolate in their vans.<\/p>\n

If someone refuses shelter, workers cannot force them to go inside, Trevisan said. Instead, they offer what they can: a ride, dry clothes, a warm drink, even a chance to sit in a heated van for half an hour.<\/p>\n

\u2018The lights were all flickering and going on and off\u2019<\/p>\n

Carbon monoxide from an underground electrical fire caused by seeping road salt forced residents of a Brooklyn apartment building to evacuate during the snowstorm Monday.<\/p>\n

A woman hoisted a child wrapped in a blanket into her arms as she stepped into the blowing snow, accompanied by a man with a meowing cat inside a pet carrier. White smoke billowed nearby from a maintenance hole.<\/p>\n

Another resident, Eric Moultrie, said the fire has been smoldering since before the snowstorm and eventually caused a power outage Monday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard some like, loud buzzing and banging and the lights were all flickering and going on and off,\u201d he said. He said the building in the Flatbush neighborhood has around 70 apartments.<\/p>\n

Firefighters at the scene said it\u2019s common for road salt to get into underground utility equipment, triggering sparks that burn cable insulation and can release carbon monoxide.<\/p>\n

Holding out hope for a flight home<\/p>\n

Daniel Gueyikian, a recent college graduate from Chicago, found himself stranded after multiple cancellations.<\/p>\n

Gueyikian traveled to the East Coast over the weekend to see friends and attend a conference. He was originally scheduled to fly home from Newark airport but his flight Sunday night was canceled.<\/p>\n

He rebooked for a Monday morning departure out of Philadelphia \u2014 that flight was also canceled.<\/p>\n

A midday departure was scrapped as well.<\/p>\n

By early afternoon Monday, Gueyikian was holding out for a 5 p.m. flight \u2014 the first on the departures board that had not yet been canceled.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a bit much,\u201d he said, joking that he wished he could take over as the groundhog and decide whether winter should last any longer.<\/p>\n

Broadway to remain dark for another day<\/p>\n

Broadway shows were closed Monday for the second consecutive day.<\/p>\n

While Monday is a traditional day off in the theater district, five productions \u2014 \u201cHarry Potter and the Cursed Child,\u201d \u201cChicago,\u201d \u201cEvery Brilliant Thing,\u201d \u201cThe Great Gatsby\u201d and \u201cSix\u201d \u2014 had been slated to open their doors and will now shutter them.<\/p>\n

Mamdani: \u2018We will see 40-degree weather sometime this week\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re talking about the previous storm, we\u2019re talking about a level of arctic conditions that the city had not seen for many, many years and unlike in prior storms after the snowfall, there wasn\u2019t an increase in temperature,\u201d Mamdani said, referring to not having reports of fatalities since the start of the current storm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThough it is a blizzard, one of the few pieces of good news is that we will see 40-degree (4.4 degree Celsius) weather sometime in this week,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

NYC remains under a state of emergency<\/p>\n

Crews have been busy since the start of the storm, working to clear streets, according to Mamdani. About 2,600 sanitation employees are staffing each shift, and 2,300 plows are helping clear snow, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI continue to encourage all non-emergency traffic \u2014 cars, trucks, scooters and e-bikes \u2014 to remain off the roads. We are plowing streets and doing everything we can to keep our roadways clear so that emergency vehicles can get through,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

Parts of Staten Island have been hit hard, prompting extra clearing equipment to be sent there. About 11,000 utility customers in the Rockaways were without power Monday morning, but electricity to about 8,000 has since been restored.<\/p>\n

Commercial travel ban remains in effect in Connecticut<\/p>\n

State Emergency Management Director William Turner also urged residents to stay off the roads.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile a full travel ban is not in effect, the travel is still very treacherous,\u201d he said during a news conference.<\/p>\n

Joshua Cingranelli, the state meteorologist, said parts of southeastern Connecticut so far received about 20 inches (51 cm) of snow while wind gusted to 68 mph (109.4 kph) at Groton-New London Airport along the coastline.<\/p>\n

Official blizzard conditions were reported in Groton, Meriden and Waterbury, he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re dressed for Houston currently\u2019<\/p>\n

Benjamin Lundell and Thomas Mehari, network consultants on a business trip from Sweden, were among those stranded in New York, after their flight to Texas was canceled Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re dressed for Houston currently,\u201d said Lundell, as he trudged through knee-high snow in a thin jacket and jeans in search of a new hotel in Manhattan. \u201cIt\u2019s a crazy day \u2026 but it\u2019s been an adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n

One upside to the blizzard: Katz\u2019s Deli, the famed pastrami shop, for once didn\u2019t have a line.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a lot of free tables,\u201d Lundell said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know it was a popular place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snowfall counts are climbing<\/p>\n

Snowfall totals reached 2 feet (61 centimeters) on Monday morning in southeastern Massachusetts, Long Island in New York and parts of New Jersey and Rhode Island, according to reports made to the National Weather Service.<\/p>\n

Coffee, but no customers<\/p>\n

Ali Atoun was bundled up in a parka and hood as he worked in a Manhattan coffee truck, where he had opened up at 6 a.m.<\/p>\n

He was warm enough, he said. But customers? \u201cVery few.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re not out of the woods yet\u2019<\/p>\n

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is warning that more electricity outages are likely as the snow freezes, pulling tree branches onto power lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not out of the woods yet,\u201d he told WFSB-TV shortly before 11 a.m. \u201cThis storm\u2019s got at least a few more hours to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said roughly 20,000 homes were out of power so far.<\/p>\n

Given the large amount of snow, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said cities and towns will be allowed to dispose of snow piles in bodies of water, subject to various restrictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis additional flexibility will allow towns to more easily clear road access for emergency vehicles, and will prevent negative impacts from blocked drainage infrastructure, like localized flooding,\u201d according to a news release from the department.<\/p>\n

Universities navigate remote classes and more<\/p>\n

Nonessential employees at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, were told not to report to campus Monday and to instead work remotely if possible. Essential employees, however, were asked to report to work as scheduled unless instructed otherwise.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Harvard directed faculty, students, staff, academic personnel, and others to check their school communications channels for academic and school-specific schedule modifications.<\/p>\n

In New York, Columbia University campuses moved to remote instruction, though essential personnel were still expected to report for work.<\/p>\n

The scene on Maryland\u2019s Eastern Shore<\/p>\n

Snow covered Ocean City\u2019s boardwalk after the beach community received more than 12 inches (30.5 cm) of the white stuff. The town was under a blizzard warning issued by the weather service until Monday evening.<\/p>\n

Scattered power outages were reported, along with some traffic lights not working, according to the city\u2019s Facebook page.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur teams are actively assessing roadways, infrastructure, and critical services throughout the Town to ensure we have a clear understanding of storm impacts and can prioritize response efforts where they are needed most,\u201d said JR Harmon, the deputy city manager.<\/p>\n

Travel is banned in New Jersey<\/p>\n

Gov. Mikie Sherrill said a statewide travel ban would be extended until at least noon Monday, citing high winds and whiteout conditions that persist across the state, creating \u201cextremely dangerous travel conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The travel restriction excludes the New Jersey Turnpike and certain essential personnel, including health care workers, officials said. Anyone who violates the ban could face penalties.<\/p>\n

Sherrill said most people are following the travel ban, which \u201cis appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Just gotta take small shovelfuls\u2019<\/p>\n

Vince Lisi was helping his neighbors shovel in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a wide enough path for people to walk their dogs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Lisi, a graphic designer in his early 60s, said the snow was heavy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am out of breath, but I\u2019m almost done,\u201d he said, adding that he\u2019d been out about 30 minutes. \u201cI know I\u2019ll be out here again.\u201d<\/p>\n

His tip? \u201cJust gotta take small shovelfuls.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s very quiet, except for the howling winds\u2019<\/p>\n

Most subways continued to operate in New York City, though rush hour crowds were largely absent.<\/p>\n

In Lower Manhattan, snow shovelers appeared to outnumber commuting office workers, and pedestrians walked freely in streets normally blocked by morning traffic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very quiet, except for the howling winds,\u201d said Luis Valez, a concierge at a residential tower just off Wall Street, as he cleared the sidewalk. \u201cA couple residents have gone out to get their essentials. Other than that, there\u2019s nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearby, Pelle Andersson, an in-house chef at Spotify, stepped off a city bus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere won\u2019t be anyone there, but we have to prepare for tomorrow,\u201d he said, noting that he was Swedish and accustomed to extreme weather.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the real deal, even for a Swede,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A massive snowstorm pummeled the northeast United States from Maryland to Maine on Monday, forcing millions of people…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[60207,11539,14812,1066,22154,9,24,55,54,56,20103,134,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-143474","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-limited-service","9":"tag-massachusetts","10":"tag-ned-lamont","11":"tag-new-jersey","12":"tag-new-jersey-transit","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","16":"tag-new-york-city-news","17":"tag-ny","18":"tag-rhode-island","19":"tag-staten-island","20":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}