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Mayor Bill de Blasio and other city leaders laid out a battle plan Tuesday for surviving the first snowstorm of the COVID-19 era.
“This is a serious storm,” said de Blasio during an afternoon press briefing at City Hall. “This could be the biggest storm in several years.”
Winter Storm Gail is set to sock the city with as much as a foot of snow starting around 4 p.m. Wednesday, snarling rush-hour commutes both that evening and Thursday morning.
“I want people to right now be thinking about the precautions you’re going to take, the ways you’re going to change your routine,” de Blasio said. “Take this seriously.”
Hizzoner encouraged New Yorkers to commute via public transportation starting Wednesday morning.
“When you get to the evening rush hour, that snow could already be a major factor,” he said. “We are really concerned about a lot of traffic coming in, and then having a hell of a tough time getting back out with that evening rush hour tomorrow.”
Alternate side parking has been suspended for Wednesday and Thursday.
Ed Grayson, the acting commissioner of the Department of Sanitation, said that brine trucks would roll out starting Tuesday night “apply a liquid pre-treat to dedicated roadways that are prone to pre-icing, and some critical highway ons and offs.”
More than 2,000 DSNY vehicles in total will hit city streets in an effort to keep what traffic there is moving, including plows pre-positioned before the threshold for their use of two inches of accumulation.
Street outdoor dining will be closed starting at 2 p.m. Wednesday, de Blasio reiterated, but said sidewalk dining will be allowed for any hungry New Yorkers willing to brave the elements.
“Hopefully everything’s back up and running for outdoor dining and sidewalk dining by Thursday evening,” he said.
Grayson said that the DSNY will strive to ensure that restaurants on so-called tertiary streets are cleared for re-opening just as well as those on major strips.
“What I can assure you is that there will be equitable plowing throughout the entire event,” he said.
Coronavirus testing centers at city hospitals will also close starting at 2 p.m., but efforts to distribute the new vaccine will continue as scheduled, de Blasio said.
Public schools will be open Wednesday, both for in-person classes and online learning.
“However, Thursday could be a very different story,” the mayor said, noting that city officials hope to make a call based on the National Weather Service forecast coming out at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
But even if school buildings are closed Thursday, a true snow day isn’t in the cards for kids, with all students shifting to online learning for the day.
“I was a kid once myself, I have to say, I feel a little sad that the snow day we used to all know may be gone, because it’s really not going to be a day off,” he said. “Every student will be expected to log on and participate in remote learning on Thursday.”
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