Parts Of Big Apple Still Digging Out In New Year
NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- The new year starts the way the old year ended, with many New Yorkers trying to get rid of the snow from last weekend's blizzard, Tony Aiello reports.
The big dig was still underway Saturday, with the City's bravest manning shovels instead of hoses."That's the thing, some of the hydrants are buried so deeply, we can't even find them," said FDNY Lt. Joe Heegan.
At least the City finally seemed to have gotten a plow down every street. Every side street in Brooklyn that we've tried to travel down has been passable, but the trip is bone-jarring. You pass over some moguls and you think you're going to break a rib.
One block in Bensonhurst was open because resident Michael Rotondi used his own plow to clear the snow. "Pass it on. Help each other. That's what everybody should be doing, helping each other," he said.
On 231st Street in Laurelton, Queens residents complained to their councilman that the block hadn't been cleared. He contacted sanitation and Saturday it was pretty much down to bare pavement.
Many believe the snow piled up because the sanitation union slowed down, but union leader Joe Mannion was adamant that there was no slow down. "We would never do that. It's totally illegal, totally against our grain. We have professionals in this department," he said.
"I don't know if it took place, if it did, it's a disgrace," Mayor Bloomberg said. The alleged slowdown and other possible causes of the snow response snafu will be investigated.
However, the first priority is to finish clearing snow and start picking up garbage. It will be days before the City looks like it should.
As a result, officials were asking residents to not pile trash or recyclables at the curb. Limited pick-ups were set to resume on Monday.
