Many parts of the “World’s Borough” are still under piles of snow after the Blizzard of 2016 dumped more than two feet of the white stuff in some areas, leaving residents wondering where the city’s response has been.
Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed the concerns of Queens residents at a press conference on Monday in Manhattan and provided an update on what the city is doing to help get things back to normal in Queens.
There are currently more than 2,000 pieces of snow clearing equipment out right now, de Blasio announced. Yesterday, Queens had a total of 850 plows, and today, the city has added 70 plows from other boroughs, bringing the total to 920 plows being focused in Queens, according to de Blasio’s news conference.
The mayor also urged residents to not throw snow into the street while shoveling out their homes, cars or sidewalks. Not only is putting snow into the street illegal, it delays and disrupts the ability of snow plows to do their job.
In order to bolster cleanup efforts, de Blasio and DSNY Commissioner Kathryn Garcia put out a call on Monday for additional emergency snow laborers to remove snow and ice from bus stops, crosswalks, fire hydrants, step streets and other locations throughout the city.
“This was one of the worst storms to ever hit New York City, and we need all hands on deck to dig us out,” de Blasio said. “As Sanitation’s uniformed workers continue to focus their Herculean efforts on clearing our city’s streets, snow laborers will be critical in shoveling out other key locations, like crosswalks, hydrants, bus stops and more.”
Those interested in becoming an emergency snow laborer can register at local Sanitation garages starting today and continuing every day this week from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. Snow laborers will be paid $13.50 per hour, and $20.25 per hour after 40 hours are worked in a week.
“While the uniformed men and women of the Department of Sanitation concentrate their efforts on city streets, emergency snow laborers will be vital to keeping the city moving after this massive snowfall,” Garcia said. “Their help in targeting the city’s thousands of crosswalks, fire hydrants and bus stops will allow for the quicker removal of snow in the areas pedestrians frequent.”
Applicants must be at least 18 years of age, be eligible to work in the United States and be capable of performing heavy physical labor. They must also bring two small photos (1 ½ square), an original and copy of two forms of identification, and their social security card or tax ID number.
For a list of garage locations, visit https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/about/operations/garage-locations.shtml.
