NEW YORK, NY – TODAY, with a major snow storm forecast to hit New York City this weekend, Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a series of TV and radio appearances to outline how the City is preparing and to share guidance on how New Yorkers can keep themselves and their families safe.
Earlier today, the Mayor was briefed on City Winter Weather Response Plans by senior city agency officials and state partners at New York City Emergency Management. Following the briefing, Mayor Mamdani held a press conference emphasizing that the City has left no stone unturned in its preparations. A recording of the briefing is available here.
New York City is expected to get at least a foot of snow, with some models predicting up to 16, or even 18 inches. The Mayor is in constant communication with City agencies, and is prepared for any outcome:
- This morning at 6 a.m., the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) began brining all highways and major streets to prevent snow and ice from accumulating on road surfaces, to ensure streets are safe and speed up post-snow cleanup.
- Tomorrow, thousands of DSNY collection trucks will be fitted with plows and chains, turning our everyday sanitation fleet into the nation's largest snow-fighting operation.
- By tomorrow evening, about 2,000 sanitation workers will be on duty for 12-hour shifts, with staffing and equipment.
- Overnight Saturday into Sunday, sanitation workers will start salting as soon as with first snowflake hits the ground.
- Once 2 inches of snow accumulates, plowing operations with 700 salt spreaders deploying citywide.
- This administration is ensuring that every neighborhood is covered. Using DSNY's BladeRunner 2.0 tracking system, we will monitor plowing and salting in real time to ensure fair, consistent service across all communities.
In case you missed it:
NY1, "Mornings on 1":
Mayor Zohran Mamdani: "[Sanitation workers are] completely in shape and ready for this... Not only for today's activities, but tomorrow we're going to see 2,000 sanitation workers start on their 12-hour shifts and we're going to be transforming what is our typical DSNY operation into nation's largest snow fighting operation and that's going to be something we'll see with plows and chains. As soon as we hit about 2 inches of snow, we're going to start to see salt being put across the city. We have 700 salt spreaders ready to do this work, and we're prepared."
The Weather Channel:
Mayor Mamdani: "We're not waiting for people to come to us. We're going out there making the case to people themselves directly. The second thing is, we encourage New Yorkers to sign up for Notify NYC. This is a notification system. Millions of New Yorkers have already signed up where you get real-time updates from the city."
Hot 97 with the Kid Mero:
Mayor Zohran Mamdani: "The first thing I would say is, if you have anything that you need for this weekend, go out and get it today. Do not wait until Sunday. As much as you can, stay home on Sunday. It is the perfect time to watch terrible reality TV with your family and friends... The second thing I would just say is know that the City is taking every precaution. We have 700 million pounds of snow on hand, of salt on hand to fight the snow, and we're seeing a city that's activated every single part of departments and agencies."
1010 WINS:
Mayor Zohran Mamdani: "I think the key thing here is we know that DSNY is doing incredible work. We are also having so many different agencies supporting that work, and so, while our Sanitation Department has transformed to the nation's largest snow fighting operation, we will also have, for example, the Parks Department – is going to be providing assistance with plowing. We're going to also be seeing so many different public sector workers who are stepping up in the way that they always have, so that this is a weekend that New Yorkers can actually continue to live their lives. And we just asked New Yorkers as much as possible to avoid unnecessary travel."
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