Two Days Later, Bed-Stuy Streets Still Covered in Snow

The snow removal efforts of the Bloomberg administration have been panned city-wide. But some of the biggest grievances on the issue are now coming from Brooklyn, Bed-Stuy specifically.

Strong winds have created drifts more than two feet deep in some areas of the neighborhood, while many local residents are complaining that they have yet to receive even an initial plowing of their streets.

"This is a mayor who prides himself on saying the buck stops by him," said Brooklyn City Councilman David Greenfield, in an interview with a Jewish radio show. "And at the end of the day, the buck does stop by him. He better fix this, or we are going to hold him personally accountable."

The issues with Bloomberg's handling of the blizzard go beyond sanitation concerns: More than a full day after the storm ended, all subway lines running through Bed-Stuy are either delayed or undergoing service changes, and the MTA does not have local buses running at full capacity yet. Con Edison also reported that 24 customers throughout Brooklyn are currently without power.

In a press conference this morning, Bloomberg said that the NYC Department of Sanitation has put more than 2,000 salters and plows on the road, and are also asking for additional help from private tow trucks.

"We can expect another 24 hours until we get to everyone, and even then I don't want people to expect a guarantee," said Bloomberg. "We are working as hard as we can, and we will pull together and get through this."

Bloomberg acknowledged that the response was slower than the more severe winter storm this past February, but said that was largely due to more than 300 buses and ambulances that remain stranded on city streets.

However, many city officials are criticizing the city's unwillingness to call a snow emergency, which would have kept more cars off the streets and made it easier for emergency vehicles to assist those in need.

The Fire Department of New York has reported a backlog of over 1,300 9-1-1 emergency calls, in addition to wait times of up to three hours for critical patients.

Most of the heavy wait times have been in Brooklyn and other outer boroughs, leading to an attack on the city's system that dictates which streets are plowed first. Under the system, roads are classified as primary, secondary and tertiary.

"The only streets that have been cleared are in Manhattan are ones heavily populated by tourists," said City Councilwoman Letitia James, who also chairs the sanitation committee. "Many of the major arteries in Brooklyn have not been plowed, and that is unacceptable."

James acknowledged that this was the sixth worst snowstorm in the history of New York City, but said the storm in February produced even more snow while having less of an effect on city residents. She also said that she will be holding emergency hearings in response to the administration's failure in the aftermath of the blizzard.

"I believe that we could have done better and we have done better," said James. "This is not a question of lack of funds. The Department of Sanitation has a surplus. What they need are more men and women on the ground removing snow not only on major arteries, but on secondary and tertiary streets in the outer boroughs of New York. We should not just focus on Times Square."