DSNY Issues Winter Operations Advisory for Wednesday, December 31 at 4 p.m.

December 31, 2025

With a trifecta of activity — New Year's Eve cleanup, New Year's Day block party and potential for overnight snow — New York's Strongest are prepared as always

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has issued a Winter Operations Advisory for Wednesday, December 31, 2025, beginning at 4 p.m. A Winter Operations Advisory is the Department's "lower level" snow-fighting notification, as opposed to the "higher level" Snow Alert.

Snow flurries could start around 8 p.m. this evening, and while the precipitation may be short-lived, some forecasts suggest snow could continue to fall through the night and into tomorrow morning, leaving a potential half-inch of accumulation on roads. To ensure our roadways and bike lanes are safe, DSNY has 700 salt spreaders filled and ready to spread salt on every mile citywide this evening through midday tomorrow. To track these holiday snow operations, DSNY will activate its GPS room — featuring the new Bladerunner 2.0 tracking operation — this afternoon.

This potential snowfall marks a trifecta of DSNY activity over the next 24 hours: In addition to salting our roadways, DSNY will have more than 340 Sanitation Workers cleaning 100,000 pounds of confetti, paper hats and glasses, and other litter at Times Square during the first hours of the new year. Dozens more Sanitation Workers will be on Broadway in Lower Manhattan to clean after tomorrow afternoon’s mayoral inauguration. With historic staffing levels and ongoing training year-round, New York’s Strongest never blink, never retreat, and are always ready for whatever may come our city’s way, even during the flurry of events over this holiday.

Because of the New Year's holiday, there will be no trash, recycling or compost collection Thursday, Jan. 1. Residents who have Thursday collection are asked to put their material out Thursday evening for collection starting Friday. At this time, there is no anticipated change to collection operations Friday, and New Yorkers with Friday collection should continue to follow their regular schedule unless otherwise notified. Delays may be possible, given that the same Sanitation Workers who pick up this material are also operating salt spreaders and cleaning after New Year's Eve and New Year's Day events.

New Yorkers should know: DSNY is working to ensure your safety. Do your part both for yourself and for the Strongest by staying off the roads during active precipitation or, if you absolutely must drive, by doing so slowly, safely and carefully.

While many parts of the city may not see accumulations, property owners are reminded that should snow and ice accumulate, property owners must do their part to make sure that the sidewalks are passable, with a minimum 4-foot clear path, where possible. Property owners with Empire Bins are responsible for clearing snow and ice from and around the Empire Bin to facilitate collection. The fine for failure to clear sidewalks is $100 for the first offense, $150 for the second offense and $250 for the third offense.

New Yorkers are also encouraged to sign up for NotifyNYC, the City's free emergency notification system, available in 14 languages including ASL. Through NotifyNYC, New Yorkers can sign up to receive phone calls, text messages, and email alerts about severe weather events and emergencies. To sign up for NotifyNYC, call 311, visit nyc.gov/notify or follow @NotifyNYC on Twitter.

Find information on Sanitation snow operations along with residents' responsibilities during and after snow at nyc.gov/snow.

Press Release #25-48