New York struggles to reopen after storm
Source: Agencies |
December 29, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
NEW Yorkers dug out of the sixth biggest snowstorm in the city's history and thousands of stranded travelers hoped to finally board long-delayed flights yesterday after a blizzard buried the northeastern US the day after Christmas.
An eerie quiet hung over the city and its largely empty streets, many still unplowed, and crippled commuter rail service struggled to resume regular operations after the storm dumped 50 centimeters over a 17-hour period on Sunday and Monday.
Boston, Philadelphia and other cities on the Atlantic Coast also got pummeled with similar snowfall and crept back to life after an extended holiday hiatus when garbage went uncollected, offices stayed shut and shoppers stayed home on what normally is one of the busiest retail days of the year.
With 4,500 flights canceled or delayed on Sunday and Monday in New York's three major airports alone, tens of thousands of passengers camped out in terminals. Airlines could need another day or two to work through the backlog, officials said.
Financial markets were operating normally but Monday's trading volume of 2 billion shares on the New York Stock Exchange marked the lightest day of the year.
True to character, New Yorkers complained about storm relief while the city's fleet of 2,000 snow-plowing sanitation trucks struggled to clear major arteries, secondary streets and smaller side streets, in that order.
After fire trucks and city buses got stuck in the snow, and many neighborhoods in the boroughs outside Manhattan had yet to see plows, accusations rained in that City Hall failed to prepare for a blizzard that was forecast days in advance.
"I am increasingly concerned the city did not take every necessary steps to minimize the disruption," said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, whose elected post was created to counter the mayor's powers.
"More decisive steps should have been taken to keep drivers off the roadways and prevent so many abandoned vehicles from obstructing the city's snowplows. We need to determine if inadequate preparation played any role in grinding New York City to a halt," de Blasio said.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the city's performance on Monday, saying sanitation workers were working around the clock to clear the streets.
An eerie quiet hung over the city and its largely empty streets, many still unplowed, and crippled commuter rail service struggled to resume regular operations after the storm dumped 50 centimeters over a 17-hour period on Sunday and Monday.
Boston, Philadelphia and other cities on the Atlantic Coast also got pummeled with similar snowfall and crept back to life after an extended holiday hiatus when garbage went uncollected, offices stayed shut and shoppers stayed home on what normally is one of the busiest retail days of the year.
With 4,500 flights canceled or delayed on Sunday and Monday in New York's three major airports alone, tens of thousands of passengers camped out in terminals. Airlines could need another day or two to work through the backlog, officials said.
Financial markets were operating normally but Monday's trading volume of 2 billion shares on the New York Stock Exchange marked the lightest day of the year.
True to character, New Yorkers complained about storm relief while the city's fleet of 2,000 snow-plowing sanitation trucks struggled to clear major arteries, secondary streets and smaller side streets, in that order.
After fire trucks and city buses got stuck in the snow, and many neighborhoods in the boroughs outside Manhattan had yet to see plows, accusations rained in that City Hall failed to prepare for a blizzard that was forecast days in advance.
"I am increasingly concerned the city did not take every necessary steps to minimize the disruption," said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, whose elected post was created to counter the mayor's powers.
"More decisive steps should have been taken to keep drivers off the roadways and prevent so many abandoned vehicles from obstructing the city's snowplows. We need to determine if inadequate preparation played any role in grinding New York City to a halt," de Blasio said.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the city's performance on Monday, saying sanitation workers were working around the clock to clear the streets.
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