Debysingh’s team helps cordon off areas and keep the circles free of unauthorized vehicles, not only to facilitate plowing, but also to provide access to fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles should the need arise. Owners are notified to move their cars as the snow removal progresses. Dozens of traditional fluorescent-orange traffic cones are employed, as well as taller yellow cones, topped with emergency lights, which flash during a storm, so as to alert the plows to circumnavigate drains and the expansion joints. These rubber joints crisscross the “big circle” and serve to allow the roads and lots, which cover three tiers of resident parking beneath, to expand and contract with changing temperatures. They are essential in preventing cracks and fissures in the tarmac, but can easily be snagged by plows, causing terrible damage to the surface and vehicles. The joints and drains are difficult to see on a clear night, never mind during a storm or possible whiteout conditions in the daytime. Regardless of the length between inclement weather, personnel are versed in the proper use and procedures for The Towers’s small arsenal of snow-combatting equipment, all of which are checked and rechecked before during and after every storm. This Spartan Photo by Steve Auerbach concern for efficacy is as much for the staff as the machines. Cairo and O’Neill can determine the best individual for a particular piece of equipment during these maintenance sessions and schedule their personnel accordingly. The North Shore Towers utilizes a winter cache of vehicles that would make most cities envious: 4 trucks— two pick-ups, a Ford Ranger and a dump truck—a massive front-end loader, and 3 Polar Tracs, not to mention dozens of push-cart salt spreaders, ice chippers and shovels. It is these diminutive, latter trio of machines that are both the most expensive and yet most powerful. Although appearing like little more than all-weather golf carts and built by Toro—a company most would associate with lawn mowers—the Polar Tracs size and versatility makes them ideally suited for walkways and safely plowing between parked cars. Yet, they are also powerful enough to have facilitated the escape of a truck on at least one occasion, according to O’Neill. Three different types of snow removal salt are used, depending on their application. On the major roadways and outdoor parking areas of the complex, “Magic Salt” is applied. 100% environmentally safe, Magic Salt comes in 1500lb-bags and hails from Russia. It is also derived North Shore Towers Courier n March 2015 13 In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning “During our last big snow storm I just couldn’t sleep and took the elevator down to the lobby in the middle of the night, and there were our snow plows busily at work relentlessly clearing our roadways! Hats off to Glen and our wonderful staff to ensure our safety, one snow storm after another, all while we sleep… except for me! from molasses! As O’Neill tells it, this ecological miracle snow-melter was discovered by a former vodka factory employee. While walking around the complex during a break, the worker noticed the lake area abutting the facility was not frozen over, despite the sub-zero climate, and later determine that it was the molasses used in the distillation of the country’s signature potable that prevented the water from freezing. For the sidewalks and walkways leading up to the building entrances, a calcium chloride solution is used. This “salt”—to use the accepted term for all snow and ice melting compounds—is designed to prevent traction indoors, which aids in keeping the lobbies dry and safe from residents slipping. Lastly, traditional industrial-strength rock salt is used, albeit sparingly and only in case of emergency, such as after ice storms, during which drains can freeze instantly. Measures have to be taken to clear those drains as quickly as �� Steve Auerbach Photo by Steve Auerbach Photo by Stephen Vrattos
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