NEW YORK—Elected officials expressed their concerns on Tuesday for the city’s slow response to the blizzard on Sunday.
A media advisory from State Senate President Malcolm Smith’s office called the response time “horrendous,” and said it “paralyzed vast reaches of the city.”
“New Yorkers were stranded on trains and buses, forced to suffer with a backlog in response to emergencies,” City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said in a statement.
“New York’s Strongest, the men and women of the Sanitation Department, do an amazing job day in and day out and we are grateful for their service. That said, by all accounts, the collective storm response was not anywhere near up to the standards New Yorkers are accustomed to.” stated Quinn.
State Senator Ruben Diaz drove around the South Bronx to see the community’s situation and saw buses still stuck in the snow.
According to the advisory from Smith’s office, major thoroughfares in Southeast Queens are still snowbound.
“Residents cannot leave their homes or the blocks they live on,” the advisory reads.
“This is a very dangerous situation. The emergency vehicles can’t get through. God forbid somebody has a heart attack while they’re shoveling or something like that. Our hospitals are short-staffed, the buses have been stuck. A snow plow crashed on my block yesterday,” Queens City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. said, according to NY1.
City Council will hold hearings on Jan. 10 to evaluate the city’s snow emergency policy and find reasons for the poor response to Sunday’s blizzard.
“As we convene this hearing we must be mindful that the events of the last two days are a stark reminder of the need to protect core public services from potentially life-threatening budget reductions,” Quinn said.
A media advisory from State Senate President Malcolm Smith’s office called the response time “horrendous,” and said it “paralyzed vast reaches of the city.”
“New Yorkers were stranded on trains and buses, forced to suffer with a backlog in response to emergencies,” City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said in a statement.
“New York’s Strongest, the men and women of the Sanitation Department, do an amazing job day in and day out and we are grateful for their service. That said, by all accounts, the collective storm response was not anywhere near up to the standards New Yorkers are accustomed to.” stated Quinn.
State Senator Ruben Diaz drove around the South Bronx to see the community’s situation and saw buses still stuck in the snow.
According to the advisory from Smith’s office, major thoroughfares in Southeast Queens are still snowbound.
“Residents cannot leave their homes or the blocks they live on,” the advisory reads.
“This is a very dangerous situation. The emergency vehicles can’t get through. God forbid somebody has a heart attack while they’re shoveling or something like that. Our hospitals are short-staffed, the buses have been stuck. A snow plow crashed on my block yesterday,” Queens City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. said, according to NY1.
City Council will hold hearings on Jan. 10 to evaluate the city’s snow emergency policy and find reasons for the poor response to Sunday’s blizzard.
“As we convene this hearing we must be mindful that the events of the last two days are a stark reminder of the need to protect core public services from potentially life-threatening budget reductions,” Quinn said.
