By Madina Toure
Mayor Bill de Blasio acknowledged the city should have done a better job in some parts of Queens as residents complained about the borough being ignored during the snowstorm.
“Some areas of Queens, strong, others less so. I was out yesterday in Flushing, South Jamaica, Long Island City and Astoria,” de Blasio said at a news conference Monday morning in Manhattan. “I saw good results even on the tertiary streets. I didn’t see the kind of results I wanted in Sunnyside, Woodside, Elmhurst, Corona.”
The mayor said he visited Corona and Woodside Monday and saw some improvement.
At a news conference in Queens Sunday, de Blasio said more work needs to be done in Ridgewood, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Corona, Sunnyside and Woodside.
About 60 pieces of equipment were transferred from city Department of Sanitation garages and 850 plows were sent to Queens, he said.
“I will say I want to see more in Queens in particular, and I’m certainly not satisfied with the condition of some of the roads in some of our neighborhoods in Queens,” de Blasio said.
As of Sunday, New York City received 26.8 inches of snow in Central Park, the second largest snowstorm since 1869. The largest snowstorm took place in 2006, with 26.9 inches.
Five people died during the snowstorm, according to the mayor.
As of Monday afternoon, the Long Island Rail Road was still without service on the Port Washington, West Hempstead, Far Rockaway, Hempstead and Long Beach branches.
All express and local buses resumed service at 7 a.m. Monday, though buses were running with delays. Alternate side parking will be suspended until Feb. 1.
Queens residents said they were dissatisfied with the city’s handling of the snowstorm in the borough, complaining that many areas were not plowed.
“We in Woodhaven are extremely disappointed by the city’s performance during and after the blizzard,” the Woodhaven Residents Block Association said in a statement released Monday morning. “Even now—54 hours after the snow started to fall—dozens of blocks in Woodhaven still have not been plowed once.”
State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said his rough morning commute made him question the decision to keep schools open.
“In my home neighborhood of Ozone Park, school buses were seen getting stuck while trying to navigate unplowed streets near PS 64,” Addabbo said. “As I took my girls to school Monday morning, I witnessed both road and school rage. It is my hope that in the event of another major winter storm, our Mayor makes the more educated and safer decision of closing public schools while cleanup continues.”
City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Glendale) and City Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest) said the city’s Snowplow tracker reported streets plowed that had not been touched.
“We need thorough investigation how snowplow tracker is so wrong so often, and its impact on resource allocation,” Lancman tweeted Monday morning.
Corona resident David Valdez, 31, who was waiting for the Q12 bus at the bus stop on Roosevelt Avenue Monday morning, said he was frustrated by the long wait time.
“Now it’s 35 minutes,” Valdez said.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
