New York City's Snow Reaction Plan

I have heard many people talking, and read the arguments of others going back and forth online, over whether or not the blasts of snow we have had this winter in NYC are the result of global warming.

I remember we had some pretty intense winters in the city back in the late 60's and in the 70's. My brothers and I and all the neighborhood kids were out playing in almost waist high banks of snow, searching for perfect hills to go sledding. The Mayor's running those snow shows were John V. Lindsay and Abraham D. Beame.

Then we had some wonderful storms in the 80's when Edward I. Koch was in the house. I remember one time traveling to work and experiencing no more than the expected snow delay in bus service, then facing a nightmare on my way home as the storm intensified. Most bus lines stopped running or had extremely limited service leaving many commuters stranded during rush hour. Two friends were not able to go home and had to stay with a relative who lived close to the subway station they exited. Meanwhile I walked 2.67 miles. The storm was worse then the 2 we have had so far this season.

Back then no one was talking about global warming. Snow storms were and should be expected to occur each winter. We live in the North East after all. We should not be expecting to be walking around in capris and flip flops but in parkas and snow shoes.

While I do believe we have made a pretty good mess of polluting our planet, damaging the fine barrier that protects it and have an obligation to find a way to fix it, at present I would just like to see NYC do a better job at managing efforts to clear the streets and get NY'ers and those visiting the Big Apple from point A to B efficiently.

The street in front of my home did not see a snow plow until 4 days after the blizzard of December 26, 2010 and has not seen one yet during this last one. Why? Why in a time of such advance technology in which weather can be predicted 10-plus days in advance, is NYC so unprepared to handle inclement weather. This is not 1968. This was not a surprise storm! Where's our action plan? Seems all we have are reaction plans in NYC these days.

So, 2 thumbs down to the powers that be responsible for coordinating snow removal leaving many NY'ers stranded a second time this winter season, especially given the fact that our recent storm was not as bad as the last one in December. You may think you learned a lesson from the storm in December but obviously not so well.

And, 2 thumbs up to all NY'ers for the sense of community and team work they displayed! Yes, NY'ers learned a lesson after the first blizzard, that is, "Don't wait for city snow plows to clean up your street." "If you want it done right, do it yourself." (http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/01/27/crews-hopeful-streets-will-be-cleared-thursday/)

PHOTO ESSAY

 

 During the winter storm of January 27, 2011...

 

the trees reached to the heavens in S.O.S....

and, the street signs didn't know 
which way to point...

because while the plow above 
and the one below...

and, others around the city 
were going over cleared streets...

 this was the look of one, like many 
1/2 a block away!

LINKS OF INTEREST

Winter of Discontent Lindsay's Snowstorm, 1969

By Owen Moritz, Daily News, Oct. 1998

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/01/27/crews-hopeful-streets-will-be-cleared-thursday/

The Mayors and Snow

Columbia University Press Blog, January 13, 2011

http://www.cupblog.org/?p=2909 

Blizzard 2009, Just an Apparition

Right: 
Bayside Diner's Snowman holds parking spot for guests.  
(12/25/2009) 
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     Last weekend, winter's first blast kept many New Yorkers, like others in the N.E region, cozied-up in doors, and yesterday the second day of the long Holiday weekend 30+ mph wind gusts and heavy rains took center stage; belting, pelting us with more of the same in your face force. Off and on throughout the day shrilling sirens, sounds of muffled jets and the chatter of a few passersby joined the duo's jam, while mounds of snow eroded like cotton candy on a child's eager tongue. How the birds survive the storms and remain on post to welcome and announce the rise of the sun to man is one of natures great mysteries.     
     While bringing us comfort, the sun finishes taking care of business it has with the rain. The streets are drying up. I can hear the planes and the trains just passing through, loud and clear. The remnants of Winter 2009's first big snowstorm got a licking!
     Early in the morning, while the storm was in naissance my daughter got me out of bed to go down to the Flushing Library on Main Street to take out books, graphic novels and an assortment of DVD's of almost every genre. Why can't I just roll back to sleep? It's only 8:30! Having spent the 25th indoors due to a cold that continues to haunt me I agree. The fresh air can do me good.
     Most Saturday's there is a crowd waiting for the doors to open at the Flushing Library and quite a bit of hustle and bustling going on on all floors, but as with last weekend it was quiet and we had rows and rows of DVD's to select from without bumping elbows except when we wanted to show one another a pick; TV series, International Films, Sci-Fi, Comedy, Drama and more. Most of the movies in our selection were good, The Truman Show, Push, Be Kind Rewind. Guy-X was ehh and Shutter intense.

 Movie Bite: Shutter (2008/I)

 

Left: Rachel Taylor (Jane Shaw), Right: Joshua Jackson (Ben Shaw) 

     Shutter directed by Masayuki Ochiai, is a  thriller, horror, mystery about New York City photographer Ben Shaw and his wife Jane who are spirited off to Japan right after their wedding so he can work a fashion shoot with two old friends Bruno (David Denman) and Adam (John Hensley). The Shaw's decide to take a short honeymoon in a cabin in the scenic Japanese countryside before Ben's assignment begins. However, their newly-wedded bliss is disrupted and a shadow hangs over them after a car crash renders them unconscious. What really happened? Jane obsesses about the mysterious woman she claims to have run over before the car went off the road. "Did someone come to her aide?" "Why wasn't a body or blood found?" The pain in Ben's injured shoulder keeps intensifying and the couple start to pick up a weird vibe. Ben brushes it all off as he busies himself with work but Jane remains daunted by the experience as she explores Tokyo on her own. Shutter-bugging like every good tourist.

     Is Jane seeing things? What's that strange blob of light gracing the couple's pictures at the cabin? A defect in the film? A light leak? Was the camera broken? Or, are they strong emotions waiting to be heard? Konichiwa!! Say, "Chiizu!" "Mou ichido onegai shimasu." One more time please. And Adam, Jane senses there is something not all right with him when the couple meet up with him and Bruno for dinner.

     The story unfolds like the petals opening on a rose layer by layer until the mystery woman's identity and fate come to light and her brand of just dessert is served.

 Interview: Rachel Taylor on "Being scared during filming"

Interview: Joshua Jackson "On working with a Japanese Director"

Shutter: Clip 

"You don't have a library card? No way!"

If you live, work, go to school 
or own property in NYC 
you can apply for a card in person or online.

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Flushing Library 
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Queens Public Library  

http://www.queenslibrary.org/index.aspx?page_nm=Get+a+Library+Card

Brooklyn Public Library  

http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/borrowing_materials.jsp#getbplcard  
New York Public Library (Manhattan, Bronx, Staten Island) 

http://www.nypl.org/books/cards.html