NYC Comptroller: Removing Snow Costs $1.8 Million Per Inch

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The cost of removing snow in New York City is about $1.8 million per inch, according to a report by City Comptroller Scott Stringer that was released Wednesday.

The study analyzed more than 10 years of snowstorms, but does not include the storm that hit the city earlier this week.

The most expensive years for removing snow were winters -- like fiscal year 2011 and 2014 -- in which the city received the most snow.

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But the cost per inch was also high in winters without much snow because the city had certain built-in winter expenses.

Stringer said the most cost-efficient winters are ones with a moderate amount of snow.

"Snow removal costs the city millions of dollars annually, but it turns out that average winters give us the best bang for the buck on that front," Stringer said in a statement. "The total amount that the city pays to plow our streets grows with each storm, but counterintuitively, it's a lot more expensive per inch when we get a little, or a lot, of snow in a season."

The average snowfall during that period was 35.9 inches. And the average annual cost for snow removal was $55.3 million.

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