The biggest obstacle remains abandoned cars blocking the way.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is still taking heat for the city's response to the blizzard, but if what some are saying is true, slow reaction could be result of a snow job - a deliberate effort to slow down the cleanup.
And while the mayor describes unplowed streets as "inadequate and unacceptable," that is little consolation to people still struggling to get out of their homes.
The city had set a 7 a.m. deadline Thursday to have every street in all five boroughs cleared, but despite a visible effort, the city fell a bit short.
"I think it's not a very good promise if they can't keep it," Brooklyn resident Julia Gorelik said.
City Councilman Dan Halloran says three sanitation workers and two supervisors from the Department of Transportation told him, independently, of a systematic work slowdown, designed to make Bloomberg pay for demoting 100 sanitation supervisors next week. There have also been 400 job cuts since 2008.
"They felt that their supervisors in sanitation had basically given them the green light not to work, said things like 'There's no rush,' 'Don't worry if you don't hit a street,'" Halloran said.
Union reps and city leaders say it's not true, and the mayor promised an investigation once the plowing is done.
"Once that is fully completed, we will conduct an extensive review of what happened, so in the future we can avoid the kind of problems that we've encountered this week."
The city claims the only reason a street hasn't been plowed is because of obstructions, like abandoned vehicles, blocking the way. But Eyewitness News found streets where that wasn't the case. City workers will continue the cleanup effort all day Friday.
The City Council is calling for an investigation into why so many neighborhoods were still buried in snow, and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio sent a letter to Bloomberg demanding to know what happened.
Text of Bill de Blasio's letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg:
Dear Mayor Michael Bloomberg:
I am writing to express concern and seek answers about the City's response to this past Sunday's snow storm. My office has become aware of concerns voiced by New Yorkers who are unable to leave their homes or immediate vicinity as a result of unplowed roads and public walkways. It has become evident that the outer boroughs have been disproportionately affected by the lack of plowing after Sunday's snow storm.
The storm on Sunday was severe and although the City is working feverishly now to clear the streets, I believe that the City could have taken a more precautionary approach. I am concerned that the City did not take the necessary steps to help minimize the disruptions to transportation, sanitation, and emergency services. Additionally, I think the City should have made more decisive steps to keep drivers off the roadways and prevent so many abandoned vehicles from obstructing the City's snowplows. With more winter storms ahead, it is imperative that we learn from our experiences to better prepare ourselves for future storms and natural disasters.
To better understand how the City handled this Sunday's severe storm, I request the following data from the Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Sanitation, and call information from 311 and 911. This data will be a key tool in evaluating what steps need to be taken in the future during severe storms.
Office of Emergency Management
The Office of Emergency Management is responsible for helping New York City plan and prepares for emergencies, as well as coordinates for a timely response and recovery. I have several questions regarding the Office's preparation for Sunday's storm.
Department of Sanitation
I have several questions about the process the Department of Sanitation undertook to ensure that streets were being plowed in a timely fashion.
311
My office has received hundreds of calls from constituents regarding the snow storm and many of them are being placed on hold for long periods of time when they contact 311. To that end, I have several questions about the handling of calls regarding the storm.
911
From my understanding there is a review taking place regarding the processing of 911 calls. Please provide my office with the scope of this review and the methodology being used.
Thank you and I look forward to your timely response. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Bill de Blasio