New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has issued a snow alert for Saturday, Dec. 13, beginning at 7 p.m. and running through 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14. A snow alert is the department’s “higher level” snow-fighting notification, as opposed to the “lower level” winter operations advisory.

 

DSNY officials said precipitation will begin as early as 7 p.m. Saturday and continue as late as noon Sunday, with the heaviest bands of snow likely to fall Sunday between 1 p.m. and 5 a.m. They said most forecasts anticipate one to 3 inches of snow though, they said, as always, “New York’s strongest remain prepared for any amount of precipitation.”

 

DSNY officials said personnel will activate its GPS room, which they said features the new Bladerunner 2.0 tracking operation this evening, Friday, Dec. 12, to begin highway brining operations. They said applying brine before snowfall begins helps reduce accumulation on roadways.

 

They said in past storms of this nature, DSNY has applied brine to highway ramps and shoulders in anticipation of falling snow, and this year, with new investments in brine equipment, they said the department will not only apply brine to ramps and shoulders, but also the main beds of all highways, a total of 700 lane miles, starting at midnight Friday.

 

DSNY officials said that more than 700 salt spreaders are filled and ready to go, and the department has around 700 million pounds of salt on hand. They said DSNY will begin spreading salt on roads, highways and bike lanes at the first sign of precipitation, and will begin plowing when and if snow depths reach two inches.

 

They said at this time, there is no anticipated change to collection operations Monday, and New Yorkers should continue to follow their regular schedule for trash, recycling, and compostable material unless otherwise notified. They said New Yorkers should know that DSNY is working to ensure their safety and ask New Yorkers to do their part both for themselves and for New York’s “strongest” by staying off the roads during active snowfall or, if they absolutely must, to drive slowly, safely, and carefully.

 

During a snow event, DSNY officials said Sanitation workers cover the City’s streets, highways and bike lanes, but all residents should remember that clearing snow from sidewalks is each property owner’s responsibility. They said property owners must do their part to make sure that sidewalks are passable.

 

They said all winter weather information and information about the City’s response to the storm can be found by visiting the City’s Severe Weather website at nyc.gov/snow or by calling 311.

 

Operations Update

DSNY officials said thanks to historic investments, they are well prepared for this year’s snowfall. They said after 13 snow events last winter, the department personnel continued throughout the year to prepare for snow season, as they do every year. They said DSNY recently completed an annual service training with a focus on snow and, as New Yorkers may have seen in recent days, the department conducted a snow drill this week that included the activation of snow equipment citywide.

 

They said every street is on a route, and unlike in past years, every route can be dispatched at the same time, bringing equity in snow clearance to the entire City. They said thanks to historic investments in DSNY, bike lanes will also be serviced simultaneously alongside car lanes and DSNY will be tracking operations via the new Bladerunner 2.0 platform.

 

They said that when a plowable depth of 2 inches or more is reached, residents will be able to track the progress of DSNY snow removal vehicles at nyc.gov/PlowNYC. They reminded New Yorkers that a plowed or salted street will not show blacktop right away.

 

Trash/Recycling Collection:

DSNY officials said there is no change to DSNY collection or to bin requirements at this time.

 

Snow Clearing Information

DSNY officials said as a reminder, property owners and car owners may NOT push snow into the street or onto bike lanes. They said this impedes snow clearing operations and is illegal. They said snow may be moved against the building, to the curb line, or areas on private property. They said sidewalks should be passable for all pedestrians, including a minimum 4-foot clear path, where possible.

 

They went on to say that if the snow stops falling:

• between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., property owners must clear sidewalks within 4 hours
• between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., property owners must clear sidewalks within 14 hours
• between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., property owners must clear sidewalks by 11 a.m.

 

They said property owners with Empire Bins are responsible for clearing snow and ice from the Empire Bin to facilitate collection, and the fine for failure to clear sidewalks is $100 for the first offense, $150 for the second offense, and $250 for the third offense.

 

DSNY officials said New Yorkers are also encouraged to sign up for NotifyNYC, the City’s free emergency notification system, available in 14 languages including ASL. Through NotifyNYC, New Yorkers can sign up to receive phone calls, text messages, and emails alerts about severe weather events and emergencies. To sign up for Notify NYC, call 311, visit nyc.gov/notify or follow @NotifyNYC on Twitter.