Mamdani leads storm response as city reports streets plowed twice

Mayor Zohran Mamdani guided New York City through a weekend snowstorm, using frequent public communications as the Sanitation Department said every city-controlled street had been plowed at least twice by Sunday evening. Crews began clearing roads at 8:30 a.m. when precipitation reached two inches; shortly after 7 p.m., the department said tens of millions of pounds of salt had been spread, 2,500 sanitation workers were rotating on 12-hour shifts, and snow exceeded nine inches in most parts of the city.

Mr. Mamdani appeared on local and national television, posted short informational videos on social media and held a news conference at the city's emergency management headquarters. The storm was linked to seven people found dead outdoors over the weekend; a homeless man on a park bench in Queens, the local state senator Jessica Ramos said, had frozen to death, and it was not clear if the other deaths were weather-related.

Some residents complained on social media that their streets were not plowed quickly enough. City Council speaker Julie Menin visited a sanitation garage, distributed hot meals and said there were areas where emergency response 'has been stretched and needs to improve'; she and Councilwoman Pierina Ana Sanchez later expressed concern about a 'lack of clarity and coordination' at the scene of a fatal Bronx fire.

Officials described snow cleanup as a work in progress, and it remained to be seen how virtual school would go on Monday.

Key Topics

Politics, Zohran Mamdani, New York City, Sanitation Department, Julie Menin, Jessica Ramos