00:00This storm has dropped 16 to 19 inches on most parts of our city, with parts of eastern Staten
00:06Island reporting over 24 inches of snow. It has also brought extreme winds, with gusts reaching
00:13up to 60 miles per hour. Judging from current forecasts, the worst has passed. Conditions have
00:20begun to moderate, but there is still more to come. Snow is projected to linger through the afternoon
00:26with another 1.5 to 2.5 inches expected by 8 p.m. Wind gusts are expected to remain as
00:33high as 40
00:34miles per hour into the evening. New York remains in a state of emergency. The travel ban has ended
00:41today at noon, but a hazardous travel advisory remains in place through midnight tonight. I
00:47continue to encourage all non-emergency traffic, cars, trucks, scooters, and e-bikes to remain off
00:53the roads. We are plowing streets and doing everything we can to keep our roadways clear
00:58so that emergency vehicles can get through. Every vehicle that stays off the road makes
01:03that work that little bit easier. These are dangerous conditions. Not only is snow continuing
01:09to fall, accumulated snowfall and refreezing have made it hazardous to travel. If you can,
01:15remain indoors. If you must leave your home, please rely on public transit. I am grateful for
01:22our tireless agency teams who have been working non-stop to prepare our city for this blizzard
01:27and to keep New York running. This has been a full-force winter weather response operation,
01:32with 2,600 sanitation workers deployed on every 12-hour shift and over 2,300 plows,
01:39including 700 salt spreaders mobilized citywide. In addition, DSNY has employed 575 emergency snow
01:48shovelers across our city last night, with more than 800 shovelers on the morning shift today.
01:53Despite the active blizzard, they were able to clear over 1,600 crosswalks, 419 fire hydrants,
02:00and almost 900 bus stops overnight. And that does not include what they have cleared since this morning.
02:07Amidst this, DSNY has been hard at work to expand their supervision capacity for the snow
02:12shoveler program. And as of today, they can now deploy 1,800 New Yorkers per shift. Due to the
02:19historic nature of this blizzard, we've increased pay to $30 per hour. You can walk into any DSNY
02:25garage until 8 p.m. this evening and then starting again at 9 a.m. tomorrow. All you need to
02:30bring
02:31is two forms of ID to ensure you get paid. In addition to DSNY, the DOT has also cleared over
02:371,300
02:38sheltered bus stops so far. All of this is managed through DSNY's Blade Runner 2.0 system,
02:44which monitors plowing and salting in real time. You too can track their live progress via our plow
02:50tracker at nyc.gov slash plownyc. As of 1230 p.m., DSNY has distributed over 50 million pounds of salt
03:00and plowed over 99.5% of city streets at least once. As heavy snow continues to fall,
03:07every single street in every single borough will be plowed as many times as necessary to make it safe
03:13for emergency travel. As I mentioned earlier, parts of Staten Island are being hit hardest by this
03:19winter storm. In addition to existing efforts, DSNY is deploying 65 further pieces of equipment to
03:24Staten Island and the NYPD Tow Truck Task Force is now operating especially heavily in the borough to
03:30free-stuck vehicles, which include MTA buses. Our teams will continue to salt again and again
03:37throughout the day. This work has been a testament to the whole of government coming together to
03:41tackle a shared challenge. The NYPD Highway Patrol will continue escorting DSNY to facilitate the
03:47salting and plowing of our streets. And the Down Trees Task Force has been coordinating across the
03:53five boroughs. Again, I am imploring New Yorkers to stay off the roads. The fewer passenger and
03:59commercial vehicles need to be assisted, the quicker we can respond to plows and emergency vehicles.
04:03And if you can cook at home, please do so instead of ordering food to be delivered, given the
04:08conditions. I hope our students enjoy their snow day today and stay warm and safe throughout, but I do
04:14have some tough news to share. School will be in-person tomorrow. You can still pelt me with snowballs when
04:19you see me. Alternate side parking will be suspended through the week. NYC Ferry remains suspended for the
04:26rest of today, while the Staten Island Ferry is running half-hour service through the day. A decision will be
04:31made on
04:31tomorrow's service for both the Staten Island and NYC Ferries later today. All public libraries across the
04:37city remain closed today. An update on reopening tomorrow will be made and shared later this
04:42afternoon. City buildings will be back open to the public tomorrow for in-person city services.
04:48Code Blue remains in effect, and an enhanced Code Blue has been extended through Wednesday morning.
04:53Throughout this storm, our outreach workers have continually canvassed all five boroughs, helping
04:59homeless New Yorkers find shelter. Last night, outreach workers made 79 placements. I want to be
05:04very clear. If you need warmth and shelter, it is available to you. This morning, our Department of
05:10Social Services accelerated the opening of another hundred low-barrier stabilization beds in upper
05:15Manhattan, building on the additional capacity we added during the historic cold snap a few weeks ago.
05:21Across our city, we have had 22 warming buses, 11 health and hospitals warming spaces,
05:26and 13 school warming centers open. Our health and hospitals mobile warming units have been redeployed
05:32to provide clinical assistance, warm food, and clothing. By this afternoon, we will have 15 mobile
05:38warming units citywide. Our on-point overdose prevention centers were also open all of last night
05:44and will remain open today and overnight tonight as well. I continue to ask New Yorkers to check in on
05:50those who may be struggling. If you see someone in need of warmth or shelter, please call 311 immediately
05:56so outreach workers can assist. In a code blue, these 311 calls will be rerouted to 911. You can also
06:04call 311 directly from our LinkNYC kiosks or use them to find the locations of warming centers across
06:09the city. We are aware that there were power outages across the city, including over 11,000 New Yorkers in
06:15the Rockaways who were without power this morning. NISOM dispatched field personnel to check conditions
06:20and make repairs. Power has already been restored to more than 8,000 of those New Yorkers. As a
06:26contingency, NISOM has opened warming centers at Far Rockaway High School, Beach Channel High School,
06:31and PS43. For New Yorkers dealing with heat or hot water issues, call your landlord immediately. If you do
06:38not hear back promptly, please call 311. HPD staff is working overtime and is on call to help.
06:44NYCHA has deployed additional staff this weekend, including technical teams, to respond to elevator,
06:49heat, and any other repair issues that may arise. If you are a NYCHA resident dealing with a non-emergency
06:55issue, please call 718-707-7771 or submit a work ticket through the My NYCHA application.
07:04Lyft began clearing operations at city bike stations this morning and have cleared 20 stations as of
07:091130 a.m. With additional vendors starting at different points throughout the day, we expect
07:13their progress to rapidly accelerate as the afternoon continues. And operational agencies have
07:19been working to clear fire hydrants, crosswalks, and bus stops around their property as well.
07:24While DSNY continues to prioritize snow response, there will be delays in collection. There will be
07:29no collection of any material today, February 23rd, or tomorrow, February 24th. We will provide an
07:35updated plan on trash collection by end of day tomorrow on what collection will look like for
07:40the rest of the week. When we share that plan, we will be prioritizing trash and compost. Recycling
07:46will continue to be delayed into the following week. Please hold your recycling and wait to put
07:51it out until next week as you would after certain holidays. Our mandate for property owners to clear
07:56four-foot-wide paths across all sidewalks remains in effect. We issued more than 4,000 violations
08:03after the last storm. We do not want to issue as many citations again. So please, if you are a
08:09property
08:09owner, do your part, clear the snow, and help make our city passable for our neighbors, especially those
08:15with disabilities. For those shoveling, take it slow. This snow is exceptionally wet and heavy. Your
08:22health comes first. Please protect your back and your heart by working slowly and make sure that you're
08:27taking frequent breaks. Older adults should stay indoors and should avoid shoveling. The coastal
08:32flood warning for low-lying coastal parts of our city ended at 5 a.m. this morning. There are no
08:38current warnings issued for our coast flood zones. For those in flood zones or basement apartments,
08:43Notify NYC has a special category to alert you in the event that flooding happens. You can sign up
08:49at nyc.gov slash notify. I urge all New Yorkers to sign up for Notify NYC by texting Notify NYC
08:57to 692-692
08:59to receive immediate updates on forecasts and conditions. You can also visit nyc.gov slash be
09:05ready for more information. I know that this is a city full of people who do not like to sit
09:11still,
09:11and yet as the snow continues to fall and conditions remain dangerous, I am asking you to do just that.
09:18Turn on that crackling fireplace YouTube video. Call that relative whose WhatsApp you haven't
09:23responded to. Make an enormous pot of soup and bring some to your neighbors upstairs.
09:27And above all, stay warm, stay inside, stay prepared, and stay safe.
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