Vic DiBiteto is clearly a victim of the media hype surrounding Nemo – which, by the way, is a name bestowed by The Weather Channel, not the National Weather Service, which doles out the real names, and never to winter storms.
Anyway, Vic, a comedian and former performer at the much-missed Pips, needs to get his bread and milk before the flurries start falling.
Have you picked up your bread and milk?
Thanks to Ann H. for pointing this out to us on Facebook.
Winter storm Nemo is taking on the northeast today and tomorrow, throwing government officials and media outlets into a tizzy.
While we know New York City has certainly seen worse than the foot or so of snow expected, the precipitation combined with high winds and storm surges in coastal areas merits some caution.
The current predictions from the National Weather Service are as follows:
The high winds are expected to fuel a storm surge of three to five feet, an amount that Southern Brooklyn would normally handle without incident. However, concerns are that some coastal defenses remain down after Sandy, and some flooding may occur locally.
So what’s the worst that can happen? While the Weather Channel may be calling Nemo “historic,” and the city is rushing about to look as prepared as possible following Bloomberg’s 2010 mishap, we think we’ll be all right. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t prepare. Here are some precautions you should take:
Currently, alternate side parking is suspended, but meters are in effect and school is in session. If you get antsy waiting for the city snow plows, you can monitor their progress at PlowNYC, set up after complaints from the 2010 blizzard.
As for Sheepshead Bites, we won’t be freaking out, but we will be covering the most important information about the storm as it happens. Turn here for the latest information from government authorities and utility companies, school, transit and road closures, as well as on-the-ground reports from readers around the neighborhood.
And remember to save our e-mail address (tips [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com), phone number (347-985-0633) and Twitter account (@sheepsheadbites) into your phone. If you see downed trees or power lines, flooding, or anything else, snap a photo with your cell phone and e-mail, text or Tweet it over.
Oh, and send all your pretty snow photos over to photos [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com.
Good luck, and be safe!
The city will soon implement a GPS-powered website allowing residents to check on the location and schedule of snow plows in future blizzards, reports the New York Daily News.
The GPS technology that New York City will use is modeled after an initiative in Chicago, which displays the location of snow plows on a website, and pairs it with routes so residents can see where it’s going next. The new transparency initiative comes in response to the bungled plow jobs during the December 26 blizzard, when the city claimed streets were plowed when they actually were not.
It is still unclear how much the project will cost and when will the service be available.
What do you think? Will this help when we get hit with another major blizzard?
Photo by Randy Contello
Since dropping the ball by forgetting about hundreds of passengers stranded during last year’s blizzard, the MTA has developed a game plan to brave the harsh conditions that awaits us this winter season.
“Last winter’s weather was tough for New York and the MTA, but we’ve made improvements to our service protocols, equipment and communications to provide the best possible service this year,” said Joseph J. Lhota, MTA’s executive director.
As part of the new protocols, the New York City Transit system has reinforced their preparedness and response by incorporating dedicated customer advocates, establishing situation rooms, and adopting procedures for preemptive curtailment of service.
The following announcement from the Office of City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn was forwarded to us by our friend, Ed Jaworski, president of the Marine-Madison-Homecrest Civic Association. If memories of abandoned cars, a blizzard-crippled transit system, stranded ambulances, unplowed thoroughfares, and six-foot-high snowbanks make your blood run cold, that should be impetus enough to attend tomorrow’s hearing. Pertinent details, such as date, time, location and contact information, have been bolded:
Dear New Yorker,
Next Wednesday, November 30th, the City Council’s Committees on Public Safety and Sanitation and Solid Waste Management will be holding a joint oversight hearing on the borough-based snow plans and citywide winter emergency protocols issued by the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) and the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), respectively.
Copies of the DSNY borough-based snow plans are available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dsny/html/snow_plans_mapping/snowplans.shtml, and the OEM Snow Preparedness and Response Report is available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/downloads/pdf/2011snowreport.pdf.
We know snow removal and other snow-related issues are on many people’s mind, especially as we edge closer to winter, and anyone who wishes to is more than welcome to attend this hearing.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in the 14th Floor Committee Room at 250 Broadway in Lower Manhattan.
If you would like to testify, please be sure to register with the sergeant-of-arms on the 14th Floor. Due to increased building security procedures, please bring identification and allot some extra time for entry through the building lobby.
You can also email your written remarks to us at speakerquinn@council.nyc.gov, and we’ll be sure to forward them to the committee’s staff.
If you have any questions about Wednesday’s hearing, please feel free to contact Jarret Hova in the Council’s Infrastructure Division. He can be reached by phone at (212) 788-9104 or email at jhova@council.nyc.gov.
Thanks and have a wonderful weekend.
Sincerely,
Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
NYC Council
Peter F. Vallone, Jr.
Chair
Public Safety Committee
NYC Council
Letitia James
Chair
Sanitation and Solid Waste Management Committee
NYC Council
More than five months after allegations surfaced blaming a union slowdown for the city’s bungled response to the crippling December 26 blizzard, New York City’s Department of Investigation released a 47-page report saying there is no evidence indicating an organized union action brought the city to a halt.
The report, issued Friday, was the culmination of testimony from 150 witnesses, as well as video and photos from city dwellers, in response to allegations by Councilman Dan Halloran. The Queens pol claimed a handful of Sanitation Department personnel came clean to him in private meetings. He refused to name all but two of the employees, and the two he named told investigators they did not reach out to the councilman, nor did they tell him there was a slowdown in effect.
“In toto, Mr. Halloran’s information about city employee statements contributed no actual evidence about a possible slowdown,” the report concluded.
After putting forward 16 bills in March to improve the city’s snow response in the wake of the December 26 Blizzard Boondoggle, Mayor Michael Bloomberg threatened to toss out the whole package. Now the two sides have reached a compromise, and yesterday the City Council passed just six bills into law.
The problem is, the six bills are toothless folly guaranteed to further erode residents’ confidence that the city can meet our most basic of winter needs.
See the bills the City Council threw out, and understand how we got screwed.
Remember this idiot, who tore up a parked car because he didn’t know how to handle the plow?
If a snow plow truck damaged anything that you own in the wake of the December 26 storm, including your home, your car, or your self, you may receive compensation from the city if you haven’t already. According to Gothamist, the city has paid out $729,677 to people whose homes, cars, or selves were damaged by city crews responding to the snow.
Oh, but the city is far from done. Not even halfway done, actually. So far, the city has only paid 297 of the 842 claims.
Hopefully, those who suffered damages already filed their claims, since they had to be in by this week to meet the 90-day post-storm deadline. Obviously, most involve damaged vehicles or damaged property. However, the Gothamist found out that 65 have claimed personal injury. Some were cases where family members died because ambulances couldn’t reach them in the snow. Perhaps the price tag on this thing will encourage a better response?
Remember the day after the December 26 blizzard? Remember how many streets were left neglected and unplowed and how hard it would have been to have an EMT or fire truck or anything else come to the rescue?
Of course you do, because we never quit whining about them! And, lucky for us, neither did the City Council, which put forward 17 bills to improve the city’s snow response efforts yesterday. Almost all of the proposals emerged from constituent complaints shared during the City Council’s blizzard response hearings.
Well, it feels like that, anyway. And, after yesterday’s 19-inch blizzard, New York City broke the 86-year-old record for January snow. Hurray! We did something!
Here’s a bunch of excellent photos from neighbors.
Thanks to Allan B., Tony G., Donna C. (and husband), Qiji W., Elina N., ShadowLock, Allen V., Judith B., dna621, Allan R., Marina F., Paul K., and Tina M. for their contributions.
