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Mayor De Blasio Promises Staten Island Will Be Priority For Snow Plows This Winter

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The leaves were just beginning to turn as of Monday, and snow seemed like a distant part of the future.

But as CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported, Mayor Bill de Blasio has already issued promises that Staten Island will no longer be the forgotten borough when it comes to plowing the streets.

Department of Transportation road crews were hard at work Monday repaving a 9.5-mile stretch of Arthur Kill Road on Staten Island. They were rushing to get as much roadwork done as possible before winter snows set in.

The condition of the roads on Staten Island is a huge concern to residents and a major source of their unhappiness. And when the snows come, it has become the winter of their discontent.

The DOT has also attacked the borough's pothole problem with a vengeance. Last week, Mayor de Blasio helped repave a particularly pothole-ridden stretch of roadway.

The de Blasio administration has filled twice as many potholes this year as the last two years of the Bloomberg administration combined. Since January, 55,922 potholes have been filled on Staten Island, compared with 24,311 in 2012 and 24,518 in 2013.

"My message to Staten Island is for decades, the people of Staten Island felt forgotten by City Hall," Mayor de Blasio said, "and I say you're forgotten no more."

Anger with the mayor boiled over during his first winter in office, when many streets went unplowed for days. The mayor said things have changed, and the borough's streets are now plowed by sector.

Thus, every street will see a plow within two hours, de Blasio said.

"Previously, the City of New York has not done a good enough job with snow plowing on Staten Island," de Blasio said.

But some Staten Islanders were still less than enamored with the mayor after the announcement.

"He's doing a little better than the last mayor," one man said.

"I don't think he's doing a good job; the streets are pretty messed up," added Noel DiBlasi. When Kramer pointed out that the mayor was having a huge swath of Arthur Kill Road paved on Monday, DiBlasi said, "Good for him."

When Kramer pointed out the same thing to Ronnie Dobrowsky, he replied, "Big deal."

Still, the DOT has been working hard to fix the roads. There is more money in the budget, and 98 miles have been resurfaced so far this year, Kramer reported.

But the big test is expected when the first snowflakes fall.

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