New York City Council grills Mamdani administration's snowstorm response
NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City Council held a hearing to discuss the Mamdani administration's response to recent snowstorms.
The hearing was originally scheduled for this past Monday, but was postponed due to the historic blizzard that hit the Tri-State area.
The committees for disability, sanitation and transportation are looking into why snow hasn't been cleared from sidewalks, curb cuts and bus stops in a timely manner.
Lawmakers also focused on accessibility concerns during the storm that hit the city in January.
Council member Shahana Hanif spoke about her own challenges getting around with lupus.
"The fact that access remains inconsistent is precisely why this conversation cannot wait. Accessibility during and after winter storms is not peripheral. It is urgent, ongoing and consequential," Hanif said.
Some who testified on Friday said the city can't rely on property owners to do the heavy lift, and suggested that the money received in fines for not shoveling should be used to employ more people to shovel.
"Some might shovel in front of their house, or someone might not shovel at all, so I'm going to walk halfway down the block and I'm going to have to make a U-turn, and walk around the block the other way just to go shopping," said one man who testified.
Acting Sanitation Commissioner Javier Lojan also testified about his department's work during the back-to-back storms.
"With the help of 1,500 emergency snow shovelers working both day and night shifts, including during an active storm, as well as over 500 pieces of equipment from outside vendors," Lojan said. "We have cleared snow from 40,000 crosswalks."
He noted some areas were particularly hard hit like Staten Island.
"With very high winds causing heavy drifts, many areas had to be readdressed over and over for several days," Lojan said. "This storm had unique challenges, particularly on Staten Island, where hilly and narrow streets posed challenges for our larger equipment which required us to deploy smaller equipment which is more time intense."
Meantime, all streets on Staten Island have now received one pass from a plow post snow. Some need more, especially dead ends and bus lanes, and the work is continuing.
The Sanitation Department says it made big progress on Forest Avenue and promises the St. Patrick's Day Parade will be great.
PHOTO GALLERY: Blizzard of 2026 photos across NYC, Tri-State area
City Services & Transit Updates
Trash collection: Resumed Wednesday at 6 p.m., with delays expected due to volume.
Recycling: Resumes next Monday.
Alternate side parking: Suspended through the end of the week.
Libraries and city buildings: Fully open
New Yorkers can look up the last time their street was plowed at nyc.gov/plownyc.
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