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QC01282016

FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com JANUARY 28, 2016 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3 BLIZZARD 2016 DSNY bulks up efforts to clean up Queens after historic snowfall BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@qns.com/@A_GiudiceReport As Queens continued to dig out Tuesday after being blasted with more than 30 inches of snow in some areas, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) increased its efforts to unbury the “World’s Borough.” Since the end of the storm, DSNY announced on Jan. 26 that it has plowed up to 97 percent of streets, with all primary and secondary streets getting plowed at least once. “Only some tertiary streets remain impassable, and DSNY has been focusing plows to those streets in Queens,” a DSNY spokesperson said. “DSNY is also revisiting some secondary areas where snow has been dumped back into the streets.” According to DSNY, as of Jan. 26, they plowed 96 percent of the routes in Queens since the end of the blizzard, a 26 percent increase since 8:30 p.m. Sunday night. “There has been a signifi cant increase on tertiary and smaller routes since Jan. 24, 34 percent on all citywide routes, including a 43 percent increase in Queens, 65 percent increase in Staten Island, and a 42 percent increase in the Bronx,” DSNY said. The Sanitation Department diverted several front-end loaders from other boroughs and hired private contractors to assist in the digging, piling and hauling of snow to melters. As of Jan. 26, DSNY workers remained on two 12-hour shifts, with 2,300 workers per shift. DSNY was hiring snow laborers to assist with continued cleanup, and 920 snow laborers had already been hired. For more information on how to become a snow A plow travels down 80th Street in Middle Village. laborer, visit nyc.gov/snowlabor. THE COURIER/Photo by Erica Siudzinski CITY CONTINUES TO PLOW NORTHEAST QUEENS BY ALINA SURIEL asuriel@qns.com/@alinangelica There is nothing left to do but be patient with the Sanitation Department’s efforts to clear the mounds of snow left behind by the Blizzard of 2016, northeast Queens offi cials said on Jan. 26. Community Board 11 District Manager Susan Seinfeld said that major plowing efforts have been undertaken in the area, and the main diffi culty is a familiar one faced by residents after any large storm: fi guring out how to dispose of snow without dumping into the path of street plows. “At least some of it’s melting but it’s not going to go that fast because there’s just too much of it,” Seinfeld said. “What do you do with 30 inches of snow?” Seinfeld says that tight space can result in street plows accidentally piling snow onto pedestrian walkways maintained by property owners. Community Board 7 Chairperson Eugene Kelty said residents should stay home as much as possible to avoid getting stuck in city streets as plowing progresses. Kelty was concerned with reports of plows breaking down amidst mounds of snow in the streets, saying that new equipment for this service should have been considered earlier in the year during capital budget negotiations. “We had problems, it was deep snow,” Kelty said. “You’re talking about a borough that got hit very hard.” However, although it was diffi cult to clean up such a large quantity of snow in a short amount of time, even obscure streets have fi nally been reached for basic plowing service. The work continues as city vehicles make multiple passes to clean up after more than two feet of snow fell on Jan. 23 — one of the most largest snowfalls to ever hit New York City. Mayor Bill de Blasio has been widely criticized over the slow cleanup response in Queens, with residents of tertiary streets in Whitestone and College Point among those waiting long hours for city plows. Commuters were forced to climb over mountains of snow and wait in the street for a bus at this stop on Bell Boulevard off 39th Avenue in Bayside.


QC01282016
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