By TimesLedger staff
Queens dug out from yet another snow storm Thursday as 5 to 10 inches of the white stuff blanketed the borough up until noon.
Winter storm Pax caused headaches for snow removal crews, who scrambled to clear streets, and grounded hundreds of flights at the borough’s airports.
Despite the storm, the city’s public schools remained open Thursday, although more than half the students did not show up, and subway service continued normally throughout the day.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said the storm arrived quicker and wetter than had originally been forecast.
“Well, this storm, as with every storm, is particular. We, in each case, see different attributes,” he said at a mid-day news conference at the Office of Emergency Management command center in Brooklyn. “This one came with a particular set of challenges.”
Sunnyside resident Nate Walker, a driver for a TV production company was on the road at 6 a.m..
“We’re shooting a ‘Person of Interest’ in Astoria and Long Island City. The streets were rough this morning, but the show must go on.”
Complicating matters for snow removal crews was the timing of the storm, which hit during the heart of the morning rush hour. By midday snow had turned to sleet in many areas, which was followed by rain. Weather forecasters predicted snow would return in the evening.
Winter storm Pax’s arrival ahead of the Presidents’ Day holiday Monday, de Blasio said, also weighs on the city’s response as Sanitation Department crews will make snow removal a priority through the three-day weekend at the expense of garbage pickup.
“That means, just to be very clear with people, to do this response properly we will not be able to do the pickups on garbage and recycling — maybe with a few exceptions — we won’t be able to do them in earnest until Tuesday,” the mayor said.
The city Department of Sanitation assigned 2,300 workers to two, 12-hour shifts during the storm. The department said crews were manning 1,800 plows and 470 salt spreading machines. The city has secured 142,782 tons of salt for the storm.
Before the first flakes fell, Sanitation asked Wednesday night that laborers interested in picking up contracting work stop by garages early Thursday morning. The department said 885 emergency snow laborers reported to work to help clear roads and sidewalks near bus stops and fire hydrants as well crosswalks.
On Skillman Avenue in Sunnyside, dog walker Tammy Winnick was navigating the piles of snow with four dogs.
“It’s very tough with all the slush today — every corner is flooded and the dogs don’t like it much at all.”
Many City Council offices said they had heard very few complaints about the weather, as of Thursday afternoon.
Hundreds of flights traveling to and from the borough’s airports were canceled Thursday morning. As of noon, LaGuardia Airport had 706 canceled flights and JFK reported 328 cancellations. The Port Authority urged all travelers to confirm flight times, departures and arrivals with airlines before traveling to airports.
Although public schools were open, all field trips were canceled due to icy road conditions. A statement released late Wednesday by the office of Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina urged parents to use their own judgment with regard to sending their children to school.
But later in the day the DOE said only 44.65 percent of the city’s school children attended classes.
Farina came under fire Thursday for her decision to keep schools open during yet another winter storm. Public Advocate Letitia James said she was particularly concerned with the conditions of roads and said any absences or tardiness by students and teachers should be excused.
The United Federation of Teachers blasted the Bloomberg administration for keeping schools open.
“I understand the desire to keep schools open,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said in a statement. “The only thing that trumps that is safety.”
He went on to say that “having students, parents and staff traveling in these conditions was unwarranted. It was a mistake to open schools today.”
James called for a re-evalution of the criteria used to decide whether city schools remain open or closed during storms.
“We must adjust the standards so that students, teachers, administrators and parents are not put in harm’s way,” she said.
Subway service was running normally Thursday, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “We’re looking good,” MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said.
De Blasio commended MTA workers during his news conference, saying normal subway service was one of the main reasons they decided to open the public schools Thursday morning. Buses, however, were running with delays citywide, Ortiz said.
The LIRR ran a full schedule during the morning peak, according to spokesman Salvatore Arena, who added that the rail line expected full service for the evening commute. The LIRR will be adding extra trains for the evening rush hour going eastbound, Arena said. The LIRR urged all riders, system-wide, to allow extra time for travel.
Traffic was moving on most of Queens’ major highways during the morning rush hour, albeit slowly.
Drivers on Southern State Parkway traveling to Queens from Long Island Thursday morning experienced a strange sight when dozens of cars on the same side of the highway came hurtling down one of the lanes in the opposite direction, a witness said. A car spun out in the snow past Exit 15, blocking all lanes and causing stand-still traffic, so drivers took it upon themselves to take an illegal detour, the witness said.
By early afternoon, traffic was moving well on the borough’s highways, which were salted and plowed.
The city suspended alternate side parking through Sunday, due to the storm. The parking rules will not be in effect Monday because of the Presidents Day holiday.
