SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE\/WYOU) \u2013 Snow removal controversy is piling up in the Electric City. It has been four days since the area\u2019s most recent snowstorm, and some people are not pleased.<\/p>\n
28\/22\u2019s News reporter Connor Coar spoke with residents and community leaders regarding the slow snow removal.<\/p>\n
Residents across Scranton are still digging out their vehicles following a Sunday snowstorm.<\/p>\n
Steve Miller, a University of Scranton student and Dallas resident, said he could not wait any longer. Miller noted that while he had been stuck inside, the snow had hardened, making the cleanup more difficult. \u201cI\u2019ve kind of just been cooped up. I mean, I can\u2019t really get to my car,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThe snow is not soft anymore. It\u2019s all hard, and on the first day, it got low enough that I could start shoveling my car out. I got to get food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Firefighters remind residents to help clear snow off fire hydrants <\/a><\/p>\n In the South Side of Scranton, residents reported a similar struggle with the cleanup efforts. Two residents said they had cleaned their vehicles multiple times, only to have city plows push snow back toward the cars during street-clearing operations.<\/p>\n According to Scranton DPW Director Peter Cusick and a city spokesperson, 40 of the department\u2019s 90 workers called out on Monday, followed by 33 workers on Tuesday. The department has been attempting to renegotiate its contract since December 2024.<\/p>\n Newly appointed City Councilman Sean McAndrew provided context for the staffing numbers after speaking with the department\u2019s union representative.<\/p>\n \u201cThe majority of people who called off were garbage collectors. There was no garbage on Monday,\u201d McAndrew said. \u201cOn top of that, yes, some drivers did call off, but they were out like almost 24 hours a day before. All of the plows that could be out during the storm were out.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Scranton was still under an emergency declaration, Scranton\u2019s mayor, Paige Cognetti, was in Washington, D.C., for the U.S. Conference of Mayors<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI continue to work around the clock, always,\u201d Cognetti said. \u201cThis is my seventh year as mayor, and there is never a time that my phone is not literally right next to me.\u201d<\/p>\n