Deputy Mayor Camille Joseph Varlack, Administration: Good afternoon. My name is Camille Joseph Varlack and I serve as chief of staff, deputy mayor for Administration and the extreme weather coordinator for City Hall. The National Weather Service is forecasting a snow system that will move into the area beginning this afternoon and going into Saturday morning, with freezing temperatures expected throughout the weekend. The safety of all New Yorkers remains our top priority. To share more details about the forecast and how we are preparing, I will turn it over to Mayor Eric Adams.
Mayor Eric Adams: Thanks, thanks so much Camille. The winter storm is here right after Christmas and as New Yorkers continue to celebrate the holiday with loved ones, we are expecting, as the chief of staff indicated, a significant snow event beginning this afternoon and we want to really thank our news stations for broadcasting throughout the entire day and we have been really monitoring this storm for several days and keeping New Yorkers updated.
But we want to make sure as we get new information that we give the most updated information as possible. The National Weather Service has issued a weather storm warning for New York City from 4 p.m. today through 1 p.m. Saturday. The current forecast still indicates a range of six to nine inches of snow citywide. As we indicated earlier this afternoon, we want New Yorkers to be prepared.
The most recent update we got said we could see snowfall as much as 11 inches in Northeast Queens and Northern New York City, so we wanted to make sure that those New Yorkers are aware. This city could potentially see the highest snow we have had in three years. The heaviest accumulation is likely to occur overnight. The snow and cold can result in widespread travel disruptions due to hazardous road conditions. We expect slick roads this afternoon and evening.
We know many New Yorkers may be traveling for the holidays, so we want to ask them to limit travel on our roads during this time. If you must travel, use public transportation and I want to be clear, the city is ready. DSNY, NYCEM, FDNY, NYPD, and DOT and all our agencies have been working around the clock preparing for this winter weather system. Salt spreading operations are already underway and our plows are ready to clean up every street in every neighborhood as needed.
Additionally, our team at the Department of Sanitation has the equipment and the personnel to clear lanes and bike lanes at the same time. We have extra staff on duty to help with the anticipated snowfall and cold conditions. And remember, cold temperatures can be dangerous, so a code blue has been issued for unsheltered New Yorkers.
If you see someone in need of shelter, please call 311. If you go outside, wear warm clothing to enjoy the outdoors and be careful when walking on sidewalks as they may be slippery. And call 311 if you need assistance for heating or pipe freezing. Don't use your oven to heat your apartment or leave candles and space heaters unattended.
We are urging New Yorkers to turn off holiday decorations when away from home or sleeping and as always, [text] Notify NYC. The forecast could change and we will be ready to update New Yorkers and I know New Yorkers will be ready to bundle up, stay warm, stay safe, and enjoy the remaining holiday and Happy New Years.
Deputy Mayor Joseph Varlack: Thank you, mayor. We'd now like to have Commissioner Iscol come up and give us some more information.
Commissioner Zachary Iscol, New York City Emergency Management: Thank you, Camille. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I was joking with my amazing first deputy commissioner at Emergency Management, Christina Farrell, earlier this week that in the last four years we've dealt with just about every type of climate emergency, Mr. Mayor, but really haven't had a major snowstorm yet.
So, you know, God is not done with us yet. But we've been through it all and we've got a great amount of snow coming this evening. So, Mr. Mayor, thank you. I also really want to start by thanking our city workers, especially from sanitation, our health care and utility partners, emergency managers, transit workers, and first responders, and most importantly, their families.
Yesterday was Christmas and while many New Yorkers were home with their families celebrating, thousands of city workers were out preparing for this storm so that the rest of us can be safe. So a big thank you to those city workers and to their families for sharing them with us.
[The] National Weather Service, as the mayor said, has issued a winter storm warning for today from 1600 to tomorrow, Saturday at 1 p.m. This is the most significant snowfall New York City has seen in years and we're encouraging all New Yorkers to take it seriously. Our team began preparing for this event a few days ago in close coordination with the National Weather Service, City Hall, and our state, federal, and local partners.
We have issued at Emergency Management a travel advisory from this evening into tomorrow morning and we have activated our city's winter weather emergency plan. We're expecting six to nine inches of snow citywide with some neighborhoods possibly seeing even more based on where the snow bands line up this evening. Rates could exceed two inches per hour. Cold temperatures will lead to icy conditions on roads and sidewalks. Roads are being pretreated now and plows will be ready to deploy as soon as we hit two inches of snow or plowable depths.
If you don't need to travel this evening, please stay off the roads to keep yourselves safe and to allow our emergency crews and plow trucks to do the work that they need to do. At New York City Emergency Management, we have increased staffing at Watch Command. We will be issuing citywide impact summaries to our partner agencies.
We've also activated a virtual EOC activation via open line with our operational agency partners to be able to respond quickly to any issues that arise around the city. Our team has been messaging very proactively to all elected officials, hospitals, [and] places of worship.
In addition to our community partners and advanced warning system, AWS system partners. Those are the partners that serve our elderly and most vulnerable New Yorkers, people with disabilities and functional needs. In addition to DSNY snow operations, we'll have additional FDNY [and] NYPD staffing deployed around the city.
DOT has been taking care of our bridges and tunnels and our tow truck task force is deployed around the city to address any stuck vehicles or vehicles blocking snow operations. As the mayor said, our Department of Social Service has issued an enhanced code blue to take care of our most vulnerable homeless New Yorkers. If you see someone in need of help, please call 311 or if it's an emergency, call 911.
But all the city's preparation only works if the city takes this, if New Yorkers take this seriously as well. So if you don't need to travel this Friday night or early Saturday, please stay off the roads. You know, knowing is half the battle. The mayor gave a lot of tips for what we need to do to keep ourselves safe.
If you want to know some additional tips for this type of weather event or other types of extreme weather, please go to nyc.gov/BeReady. And as always, please sign up for Notify NYC at nyc.gov/NotifyNYC or by downloading the app or by calling 311. Please be safe, take care of each other and look out for our most vulnerable. Thank you.
Deputy Mayor Joseph Varlack: Thank you, commissioner. We'd now like to have Acting DSNY Commissioner Lojan come up and give us some brief operational updates.
Acting Commissioner Javier Lojan, Department of Sanitation: Thank you Camille, Mayor Adams and Commissioner Iscol. Thank you for bringing us together this afternoon. The Department of Sanitation prepares for snow year round. And in my 26 years with the strongest, we have never been more ready for snow than we are today.
New technology, new training, new equipment implemented over the last few years has fed a myth that it doesn't snow in New York City anymore, because you wake up and it's already gone. But let me assure you it snows and it will snow tonight as you see it's snowing now. No tech or vehicle is a substitute for the best snow fighting tool we have– the 10,000 men and women of DSNY.
And as the lead agency responsible for snow removal, we began applying liquid brine to highways, roadways and bike lanes at midnight last night to prevent accumulation and prevent bonding. The moment Christmas ended, thousands of our people were on the job. More than 700 salt spreaders are loaded and ready to go as the first flakes fall.
When we record the depth of two inches, our plows will begin to roll and this may happen as soon as 8 p.m. tonight. Thousands of public servants will be on the streets all night long salting and cleaning the roadways, some on 14 hour shifts. The best thing you can do is help them stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.
Finally, remember while DSNY clears the streets, it is every property owner's responsibility to clear the sidewalk of snow and ice. No one likes getting a ticket, but no one likes knowing that the dereliction of duty kept a senior from getting home or a young person from getting to school. Avoid the fine by doing your part. Thank you and stay safe.
Mayor Adams: Any questions?
Question: The mayor as we just saw is coming down pretty quickly, any concern about possible power outages, the snow falling this quickly and also the drop in temperature?
Mayor Adams: Zach and his crew over at OEM is going to be in communications with all of our partners, with Con Edison and the other agencies and outside partners that's involved. We've been here before, we know we have not had snow in some times, but the coordination is in place. That's why it's so important to do the drills that we do and be prepared as we have these weather emergencies.
Question: Mayor, the Daily News wrote that a source said that [inaudible]... at least 20 bills. [Inaudible] would you like to speak about that and what made you decide if that is true.
Mayor Adams: Yes, I think the response to that article is Happy New Year's and have a good time.
Question: [Inaudible].
Mayor Adams: Yes, have fun, smoke a cigar, single malt scotch.
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