Some Staten Island Roads Remain Unplowed; City Plow Takes Down Tree In New Dorp
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- In this winter of seemingly never-ending snowstorms, attitudes have turned sour in parts of the city.
As CBS 2's Dave Carlin reports, while sidewalks have been left slushy and slick, most main roads have been cleared. But that is not the case in every neighborhood – particularly on Staten Island, where some roads were still untouched late Wednesday night and residents' patience was wearing thin.
On Elvin Street in Todt Hill, residents were demanding plows right away. The crusted coating on the road was 4 inches deep late Wednesday, and was tough on tires.
"The mayor should be on point with, you know, what's going on with the plowing," said Sandra Ghazal of Todt Hill. "Like, he should at least, like, plow up the snow a little more."
Ghazal said she would be thrilled to see a city Department of Sanitation truck. But that was not exactly the case for Jim Krause of New Dorp, whose house was damaged by a sanitation truck earlier Wednesday.
"It's a bit of a shock -- that's for sure," Krause said.
Krause showed CBS 2 the truck mishap on a video from his home security camera. The city worker apparently triggered what looked like a small avalanche.
Snow was sent flying as the plow blade on the truck caught the base of a large the tree. The tree cracked and toppled onto the roof of Krause's house, bending the gutters and cracking the front steps.
"I know how close I came to be seriously hurt," Krause said.
Krause and his stepson had gone inside just a few moments before. After the impact, they saw the damage and the sanitation truck driver, who coworkers said is relatively new to the job.
"I kind of feel sorry for the sanitation woman," said Veronica Krause. "I hope she's OK."
But Krause said he did not get an apology from anybody.
"They don't want to admit any fault, obviously," he said.
But he said other crews responded to the scene quickly.
Nearly 24 hours after the Monday storm – which dumped 8 inches in Central Park -- CBS 2 cameras found wide areas of Staten Island where the going was treacherous, including Annandale, West Brighton, and other communities.
"That case on Staten Island is simply not acceptable," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.
The mayor admitted he wasn't happy with the plowing plan on Staten Island for Monday's storm, especially on Bard Avenue, which, as CBS 2 showed, remained unplowed most of Monday, and is a primary road to a hospital.
"It was not handled properly, and we're going to fix it," de Blasio said.
De Blasio's administration first came under fire over snow removal following a storm toward the end of January dropped around a foot on the city. Upper East Side residents complained that their neighborhoods were ignored. The mayor promised to look into the situation and make the necessary improvements for the next storm.
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