Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is seeking answers from City agencies regarding their preparedness for yesterday’s blizzard, and calling on New Yorkers to report ongoing problems with obstructed streets. With more winter storms ahead, the Public Advocate hopes to improve the City's storm response by utilizing detailed feedback from neighborhoods across the city, and comparing details from the current clean-up effort to those of past storms.
“Yesterday’s storm was especially severe, and I am increasingly concerned the City did not take every necessary step to minimize the disruption," said Public Advocate de Blasio. "More decisive steps should have been taken to keep drivers off the roadways and prevent so many abandoned vehicles from obstructing the City’s snowplows. We need to determine if inadequate preparation played any role in grinding New York City to a halt. By learning from the difficulties experienced over the last 48 hours, and paying heed to the neighborhoods most severely affected, we can ensure we are ready for the next big storm.”
Public Advocate de Blasio is sending letters of inquiry to the Office of Emergency Management regarding the decision against declaring a Snow Emergency during the storm, and to the NYC Department of Sanitation regarding staffing levels.
The Office of the Public Advocate is also compiling reports of streets that remain obstructed by snow or abandoned vehicles. After reporting such conditions to 311, New Yorkers should call the Public Advocate Hotline at 212-669-7250 or file a report online at www.advocate.nyc.gov.
6 years ago
