DSNY Issues Winter Operations Advisory for Saturday, January 3 at 8 p.m.

January 3, 2026

Salt spreaders may be activated this evening as coating to quarter inch possible on roadways overnight

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has issued a Winter Operations Advisory for Saturday, January 3 beginning at 8 p.m. A Winter Operations Advisory is the Department's "lower level" snow-fighting notification, as opposed to the "higher level" Snow Alert.

Precipitation will begin this evening some time between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., and may last well into Sunday morning. Following several days of below-freezing temperatures, any frozen precipitation is expected to accumulate. 

With thousands of Sanitation Workers already scheduled to work tonight on post-New Year's collection operations, the Department is more than prepared to transition to salt spreading at the first sign of snow. In the extremely unlikely event that more than 2" accumulates, DSNY will dispatch plows as needed. Salt spreaders will address all roadways and bike lanes beginning at first flake.

DSNY will activate its GPS room — featuring the new Bladerunner 2.0 tracking operation — this evening to track salting operations. More than 700 salt spreaders and approximately 44 specialized bike lane spreaders are filled and ready to go, and the Department has approximately 700 million pounds of salt on hand.

At this time, there is no anticipated change to the collection schedule, and New Yorkers should continue to follow their regular schedule for trash, recycling, and compostable material unless otherwise notified. Delays are possible.

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.

In a snow event, New York City's Sanitation Workers cover our streets, highways and bike lanes, but all residents should remember that clearing snow from sidewalks is the property owners' responsibility. Property owners must to do their part to make sure that the sidewalks are passable.

All winter weather information and information about the City’s response to the storm can be found by visiting the City's Severe Weather website at nyc.gov/snow or by calling 311.

Operations Update

Thanks to historic investments in DSNY, the Department’s Workers and equipment are more prepared for winter weather than ever before. After 13 snow activations last winter, Department personnel continued throughout the year to prepare for snow season, as we do every year. DSNY recently completed an annual service training with a focus on snow.

Every street is on a route, and unlike in past years, every route can be dispatched at the same time, bringing equity in snow clearance to the entire City. Thanks to historic investments in DSNY, bike lanes will also be serviced simultaneously alongside car lanes. DSNY will be tracking these operations via the new Bladerunner 2.0 platform.

When a plowable depth of 2" or more is reached, residents will be able to track the progress of DSNY snow removal vehicles at nyc.gov/PlowNYC. Remember, a plowed or salted street will not show blacktop right away.

Trash/Recycling Collection

There is no change to DSNY collection or to bin requirements at this time. Delays are possible following the New Year's holiday.

Snow Clearing Information

While DSNY clears streets and bike lanes, property owners are responsible for clearing sidewalks. As a reminder, property owners and car owners may NOT push snow into the street, including bike lanes. This impedes snow clearing operations and is illegal. Snow may be moved against the building, to the curb line, or areas on private property. Sidewalks should be passable for all pedestrians, including a minimum 4-foot clear path, where possible.

If the snow stops falling between:

• 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., property owners must clear sidewalks within 4 hours
• 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., property owners must clear sidewalks within 14 hours
• 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., property owners must clear sidewalks by 11 a.m.

Property owners with Empire Bins are responsible for clearing snow and ice from 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 emails alerts about severe weather events and emergencies. To sign up for Notify NYC, 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 #26-01