Mayor Bill de Blasio went into an all hands on deck mode Monday, ordering all New York City schools closed Tuesday and imposing a ban on nonemergency vehicles as a major winter storm expected to dump as much as two feet of snow moved into the area last night.
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 26: Men delivering mail struggle in blowing snow during heavy snow in the financial district of Manhattan on January 26, 2015 in New York City. New York, and much of the Northeast, is bracing for a major winter storm which is expected to bring blizzard conditions and 18 to 24 inches of snow to the area. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that only emergency vehicles will be allowed on area roads after 11pm. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
"Everything we know so far is that you can't underestimate this storm . . . it will pack a punch," said De Blasio,as he spelled out additional measures at a news conference Monday afternoon. "This isn't going to be like other snowstorms. It's going to be worse and people must be ready."
De Blasio appeared to be taking pains to avoid a gaffe made during a January 2014 snowstorm when city schools were kept open in the face of heavy snow.
Between 24 and 36 inches of snow is expected to fall before the storm ends later Tuesday, the National Weather Service said. At times, the storm was to dump between 2 and 4 inches of snow an hour overnight, said weather service meteorologist Adrienne Leptich.
The scheduled Regents exams have also been canceled, the mayor said. They will be rescheduled for a date "in the near future," and school officials canceled all after school activities Tuesday.
The Archdiocese of New York, which covers Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island also said its schools would be closed Tuesday.
De Blasio announced that alternate-side parking had been suspended. Both he and NYC Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia warned against shoveling more snow into the streets. Normal garbage and recycling collections were also suspended for Tuesday.
"You have no reason to move your car," De Blasio said. "You are not going anywhere after the travel ban goes into effect."
All Broadway performances were canceled as a result of travel restrictions.
The travel ban was aimed at keeping the roads clear for snowplows and emergency vehicles in order to avoid the foul-up that embarrassed the Bloomberg administration during the December 2010 blizzard when stalled cars prevented effective plowing.
To help in the event of traffic problems, the NYPD placed additional tow trucks, traffic agents and highway patrol units on duty, said a department spokesman. About 2,000 officers were being held overnight from their normal tours of duty, the spokesman noted.NYPD chief of department James O'Neil said that motorists caught driving during the ban can be given summonses or arrested.
Plowing is being done by 1,800 snowplows, beefed up by other vehicles with plowing capacity from all city agencies so that there will more than 2,500 plows out, the mayor said. De Blasio warned about price-gouging during the storm, noting that particular noting that it is "immoral" during an emergency."
With amNY, Maria Alvarez and The Associated Press
