I am literally – literally – foaming at the mouth of the thought of spring. I’m so eager for the warm weather that when I first stepped outside this morning, into the 50+ degree weather, I said “hot diggity ” and stripped down to my boxers, mixed up some mojitos and sat in a lawn chair in front of my house.
Then I realized there were no babushkas around me, the younger gals weren’t yet in their, uh, more amenable attire, and the sound of school kids at Homecrest Park weren’t echoing through the side streets. I must have jumped the gun on spring.
And how could I forget that just three days ago – three! – it was a white winter, with a heavy, wet snow blanketing the neighborhood (if only for a moment). Luckily, some of our friendly neighborhood photographers sent over what they got from Friday’s snowfall to remind me just how darn far away warm weather really is. There’s also one from the Church Avenue Q line station that was just nifty.
Thanks guys: Robert Fernandez, Roman Kruglov and Ella Rabinovich.
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Nemopocolypse came and went, and while it was historic snowfall for other areas, Sheepshead Bay saw just nine inches of snow – making it a fairly routine blizzard.
Department of Sanitation did a fantastic job clearing the roadways quickly, and transit workers and management kept the system on track with little incident.
Responsible neighbors woke up Saturday morning, donned warm clothing, shoveled their properties, and dug out their cars. For the most part, it was a perfect snow; a blanket of white followed by warm temperatures and clear skies that made cleanup a breeze.
After taking care of my own property, I struck out Saturday morning to capture the neighborhood engulfed in white powder – and so did many of our readers. Below is a photo gallery of my photos, as well as those of the following contributors: Karen Hill, Cookie Ann, Sasha, Kathleen Higgins, Randy Contello, Katerina and Lelde, Brian Hoo, Melissa K., Igor G., Iris and Jake Rubinsky. Thank you for all of your submissions!
View the photo gallery.
Soruce: weather.com
There was a time when I enjoyed snow and snowy days. There used to be a thrill in getting off from school, or work, and then adventuring out into the fluffy white stuff and frolicking around.
Those days are gone for me. I hate the winter and its frozen air, shutting us in our homes and whipping our faces with cold when we try and walk around outside. Sadly, it looks like we are about to get a big dose of winter this weekend, as Nemo blows into town.
According to the Weather Channel, Nemo could be a storm of historic proportions. I think I speak for about eight million people when I say this city has had its fill of historic storms recently and the promise of a new one does nothing but fill me gloom.
On the bright side, barring a miscalculation from the weather experts, Nemo will hit hardest in New England, burying Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine with two to three feet of snow while New York will only be dealing with about a half a foot of snow; annoying, but manageable.
So, just in case we get a taste of what is expected to be dumped on New England, it might be a good time to stock on groceries, reassess any serious weekend traveling and prepare for potential power outages caused by high speed damaging winds.
Best of luck and stay safe.
Doggie photo taken this weekend, submitted by Yelena K.
The weekend came and went and we finally saw the first semi-serious snowfall of the season, with approximately four inches blanketing Sheepshead Bay.
It looked pretty, and was just the right texture that made shoveling a breeze. As for the government, they stayed ahead of the curve, canceling planned track work on the subways, suspending alternate side of the street parking, and kept their new Severe Weather website relatively up-to-date.
And now, two days later, warm weather and light rains are clearing out what was left behind.
Not too shabby. We only wish more snowfalls and responses unfurled like this.
But that’s not to say things were perfect everywhere. Some blocks were not plowed as quickly as residents would like, and some homeowners and small businesses preferred to slack on shoveling rather than to do their duty as neighbors. Also, it was cold. Who the hell likes the cold? Not I, not I…
So, we’re acknowledging the good stuff. Tell us about the bad… or, you know, about anything else, since it’s an open thread and all.
From Notify NYC:
Notification issued 01/20/12 at 4:10 PM. Due to impending snow, The New York City Department of Transportation has suspended Alternate Side Parking Regulations Citywide for Saturday, 01/21/12. Parking meters and all other posted parking restrictions will remain in effect. For more information visit: http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/home/home.shtml
Also, most planned subway service disruptions have been cancelled for the weekend, including disruptions on the Q line. Brooklyn service should be operating as usual.
The Office of Emergency Management also issued the following alert:
The NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM) has issued a Hazardous Travel Advisory for late Friday night through Saturday night as three to five inches of snow is expected in the city Saturday morning.
OEM strongly recommends those traveling use mass transit and avoid unnecessary driving during and immediately after the storm.
Visit the Citys Severe Weather Website or call 311 for information about the Citys response to the storm.
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.
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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
Notify NYC has issued the following alert:
ALERT issued 10/29/11 at 8:00 PM. No one should enter any City Park until further notice. Heavy snow and strong wind gusts, combined with full leaves still on trees, are damaging thousands of trees in parks throughout the City. This is creating an elevated and ongoing danger of falling branches and trees. City crews are working to address the damage and will continue throughout the storm.
Stay home tonight folks. Or at least stay out of the parks. It’s dangerous and slippery out there.
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.
Keep reading to see what else the report discovered, what the union is saying, and how Halloran responds.
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.
