From the Daily News:Bloomberg rightly pledged a top-to-bottom look at how, with the same number of snow-removal personnel and the same amount of equipment as in previous snowstorms, so many streets, especially in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, took agonizingly long to clear.
He must start that review within days. He must finish it within a week. The next storm could already be brewing. We must learn:
Why emergency vehicles that normally barrel through drifts got stuck in the snow this time.
Why tow trucks didn't or couldn't clear blocked streets.
Why the 911 system was unable to handle a thoroughly predictable flood of calls.
Why some streets - even bike lanes, for crying out loud - were fully cleared before others saw their first plow. The administration's talk of "primary," "secondary" and "tertiary" streets may leave bureaucrats nodding their heads, but most New Yorkers live on those tertiary streets.
Most of all: How on God's snow white Earth, after blowing a response to a storm that was no surprise, is the city going to do better next time, given the resources available today?
That's the key question, because what we have now is as good as it's going to get.
29 comments:
I saw dozens of front loaders and huge dump trucks removing every last spec of snow from the one place the mayor deems more important than his own street, times square. You may be snowed in and unable to get to work so you can pay the extra $15 for a monthly metrocard, but thank god the tourists won't have to get a teeny tiny little spec on their shoes wet for new years eve. I've been saying it for days. RECALL THIS ARROGANT PRICK. RECALL THE ELECTION AND SEND THIS BOOB PACKING.
fire the d.o.s. employees who did not do their job removing the snow.
hire men who want to work honestly and not ripoff the taxpayers.
do what general george patton would do.
Blame it on the workers. Typical rich guy horse pucky. No way they organized a work slowdown and didn't include manhattan. Give me a break. It was the mayor's policies not a work slow down.
"Anonymous said...
Blame it on the workers. Typical rich guy horse pucky. No way they organized a work slowdown "
How do you explain a snow plow driving down a street twice with his plow a foot and a half off the ground never touching the snow? do you think he just forgot to plow the snow? I saw it with my own eyes.
We all stood there and couldn't believe our eyes when the plow drove off leaving all the snow where it was.
Please explain that if it wasn't a work slowdown.
Do you think people are stupid?
How do you explain 10 Sanitation trucks, with plows, just sitting on Grand Ave. on Sunday morning at 10AM. It was obvious they were there for some time. Could it be the double time and a half they would be paid that possessed them to sit there with no snow in sight. I was in S&S nearly 1&1/2 hours and they were still they when I drove home. Where did they go??? Nowhere in Queens, that's for sure.
Well if you don't want to see this happen again then the city better start hiring new sanitation workers from the 6063 list to get the workforce at normal headcount.
Why have a DSNY test on 2007 and only hire 300 sanmen since then. Going to be 3 years in February since the list was established, that breaks down to just 100 sanmen per year. By the way there are 29,000+ people on the list, they have reached only up to #684.
Bloomberg thinks of channeling Mayor Frank Hague of Jersey city when it comes to the press's damn question's:
"You hear about constitutional rights,free speech and the free press,"every time I hear these words I think to myself that man is a Red...You never hear a real American talk like that".
Mayor Frank Hague, Jersey City
1917 to 1947
"How do you explain 10 Sanitation trucks, with plows, just sitting on Grand Ave. on Sunday morning at 10AM. It was obvious they were there for some time."
I'm sure we had plenty of trucks - but no money to pay the drivers.
Bloomberg pissed away $80 million recently on a stupid time tracking system that went nowhere. Most of the money went to CONSULTANTS! HAH!
NOW - he has a new STUDY going on about WHY THE SNOW wasn't picked up! - HOW MUCH WILL THAT COST us taxpayers? Wonder which one of his buddies gets this "consulting job".
The DOS all live in Queens they are your neighbors not your foes. They do a great job with what they have (physical selfs).
If the emergency was declared as it should have been when the storm was identified to potentially hit NYC then all Depts would have brought in their troops to anticipate the storm. Your head of the country Bermuda, My Mayor Bloomberg did not pull the trigger to declare an emergency. No finger pointing, Bloomberg is in charge as he aways declares and should own up to his personal responsibility for the failure, period. Stop the lies, deception and throwing your money around to flee and cover up your irresponsible ways! He cannot buy his way out of his poor leadership deceisons, they have already been made!
Maspeth Mom says..
Every screw up Bloomberg has - he calls for an investigation. If you had done the right thing first there would be no need for an investigation. WHOSE PAYING FOR THE INVESTIGATION!!! CITY TAXPAYERS AGAIN!!
CITY PLOWS WENT DOWN MY STREET LAST NIGHT FOR THE FIRST TIME AT
10PM - THREE TRUCKS IN A ROW. THE LAST ONE WITH THE PLOW RAISED!!!
When did snow chains on buses stop?
I smell the stink of union and DOS bosses on this blog. You guys SUCK and are bunch of thungs!!! Heads should roll. Bloomberg is a wimp. Many New Yorkers witnessed sanitation workers doing nothing, keeping shovels up and riding the same streets over and over without picking up any snow - and at night mind you so you probably wouldnt be caught while workers rake in overtime and union bosses eventually rake in the fees. Time to start privatizing the DOS!!!!
So a job action did not include Manhattan? Why not? You people are foolish fox news republican pawns. The kind of idiots who voted for Bloomberg in the first place.
Anon. No. 2 -
Send in the tanks and blow up people?
I totally agree with Anon #1. I'm walking to my office and I see every speck of snow being cleaned. Meanwhile in Queens, I'm still hopping over large mounds of snow and trying to dig out my cars in between going to work to pay all my taxes which go ?????
Anon No. 13:
Privatize DOS? With who is running the private sanitation industry in these parts?
That'll work out really well.
The rate of RICO indictments will skyrocket.
While there might be something to some sort of Union slowdown for there are too many similar stories of people seeing plows lifted. We must wait for the investigation which I am sure will show that if there was some sort of slow down it was not as widespread as the Mayor wants us to believe. Please be reminded that the drivers get orders from someplace, we need to find out what those order were and from whom they came.
We can not blame the workers just yet. Remember most of them live in the areas that were abandoned. Would they leave their families and neighbors in such a dangerous position?
Again I ask why is there a law on the books that allows the City Government the ability to either not negotiate at all, or not negotiate in good faith. Yet when a Union does any type of "Job Action" they are penalized to the point of destruction?
Also let us be reminded that the ultimate responsibility lays with the Mayor and his team, including OEM!. Especially in times of Emergency. Marty Markowitz said it best, when he said it is all their faults, all the elected officials, even those who have no immediate duties when it comes to snow removal. Well said, they are entrusted to represent the people and do for the people they represent.
I truly believe this is mostly a spin job to deflect the responsibility.
Although I do not agree with him on many issues, Councilman Halloran was once again on top of this Emergency, and kept his constituants informed, and his offices open till very late if not 24 -7. Thank you Councilman, for a job well done.
Alfredo
Last night in Woodside, I saw a couple of Dept. of sanitation workers (their vehicle was a Garbage Truck) using regular (not snow) shovels to clear snow blocking the sidewalk corners (i.e, this had nothing to do with access to garbage) .
Is this normal? (as I have never seen garbage men doing such a thing in all my years in NYC).
RU all kidding?
Emperor Bloomberg is probably now running NYC from sunny Bermuda via video feed!
Why freeze his rump in the blizzard's aftermath?
Let his spin doctors hand us another "snow job" as to what went wrong and who was responsible for the screw up.
MAYOR BUM-BERG DIDN'T DO HIS JOB!
Now, enjoy yourselves...you snowbound boobs...who elected him to his third term!
Demand a minute-by-minute accounting of where Bloomtwerp WAS over the weekend. Did Mr. Jet-Set fly to Bermuda over the holiday? If so, when did his plane return on the way back?
"Privatize DOS? With who is running the private sanitation industry in these parts?
That'll work out really well.
The rate of RICO indictments will skyrocket."
Of course! The person you responded too obviously was either born yesterday or a Libertarian.
"Last night in Woodside, I saw a couple of Dept. of sanitation workers (their vehicle was a Garbage Truck) using regular (not snow) shovels to clear snow blocking the sidewalk corners"
I've never seen it either - but since this was such a heavy snow there were mounds everywhere making it very difficult for cars to see around corners - and pedestrians as well couldn't see when crossing. It was a good idea whoever thought of it.
can the new obama/motors cars see around corners???
babs,you do babble......
"babs,you do babble......"
As this year's New Year's resolution, you should try not to be jealous of people that are smarter than you - it is so very unbecoming as well as detrimental to your own health.
How do you explain a snow plow driving down a street twice with his plow a foot and a half off the ground never touching the snow?
I go an answer for you: We are under orders not to scape up all the bike lanes and other things you had them paint on the surface.
If you compare markings to just a few years ago, the street is now litterly covered with directional indicators.
Take it up with the bike madam Kahn.
-a DOS employee
As this year's New Year's resolution, you should try not to be jealous of people that are smarter than you - it is so very unbecoming as well as detrimental to your own health.
2 words:
NUT JOB!
Where was Bloomberg you ask? A hell of a lot more visible than Crissie Quinn and the city council that not only told us Bloomberg cares of us (well if you are a developer that is true) but voted to cut the budget in snow cleanup.
Where would we be if all their plans (like 20% reduction) went through?
These are people that want to ADD anther million to NYC while everything from hospitals to schools to muni employees are cut.
And they don't even have the balls to face the public now.
They don't have a problem taking our taxes for things like snow cleanup to feed the gaping mouths of greedy developers.
"They don't have a problem taking our taxes for things like snow cleanup to feed the gaping mouths of greedy developers."
Absolutely - the developers extort money from the city and therefore us and the city allows it.
there are no bike lanes in the areas that the plow operators were observed "shirking"their duty to remove the snow in bayside.
your union gang will have to come up with more rational excuses for the taxpayers to believe your sick rhetoric.
citizens died because of the.
when the tapes are viewed by the D.O.I.,the truth will be revealed.....
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