Although main thoroughfares in northeast Queens were mostly plowed by Monday morning, smaller side streets are still suffering as snow is slowly cleared, according to leaders in Community Boards 7 and 11.
The narrowest streets of these areas were the most difficult to access as plows have trouble making sharp turns and fitting through parked cars and large snowbanks.
The two community boards collectively cover most of northeast Queens, including the neighborhoods of Bay Terrace, College Point, Beechhurst, Flushing, Malba, Queensborough Hill, Whitestone, Willets Point. Auburndale, Douglaston, Hollis Hills, Oakland Gardens, Little Neck and Bayside.
While Parsons Boulevard and 20th Avenue are clear, Community Board 7 Chairperson Eugene Kelty said there was still a lot of snow piled up near his own residence away from the main roads.
Kelty said that patience is needed as New York City disposes of historic levels of snow.
“A lot of the people were disappointed because the plows didn’t get through the tertiary streets,” Kelty said.
Community Board 11 District Manager Susan Seinfeld concurred that small streets are still being plowed as of Monday but these should be clear soon as plows double back in some areas.
“We had a flurry of calls,” Seinfeld said, “but the calls we got were from our narrowest, hilliest streets.”
With the Sanitation Department working nonstop to clear record levels of snow, much of the delay plowing northeast Queens is due to the actions of residents.
Cars abandoned in the street were a common sight with some venturing out despite a travel ban enacted by Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, and these vehicles blocked the way for plows trying to clear a path.
“There’s no reason to be running around,” Kelty said, “some people were just bad drivers and pulled the car out when they shouldn’t be.”
Seinfeld said that residents can also get in the way by shoveling snow out into the streets, creating massive blockades that have even stranded some plows.
