Hackensack mayor: City ‘fell short’ on snow removal during blizzard
The primary problem is aging, rotting plows and salters. City officials also say more residents need to remove cars from narrow streets before the storm to allow room for plows. The city had 1,000 free parking spots available.
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When it comes to snow removal during the blizzard of 2026, Hackensack Mayor Caseen Gaines says the city “fell short.”
The mayor sent out a statement saying, “We know that for many, the City felt impassable—whether you were commuting to work, trying to reach a pharmacy for a loved one, or walking a child to school this morning…As your Mayor and Council, we believe in lead-by-example governance. That begins with an honest admission: Hackensack fell short.”
Some residents on Troast Street agreed.
“It was a huge mess all around. There was snow all around. I didn’t see any trucks coming by to remove snow off the streets," said Cristina Alarcon.
The mayor, council and the Department of Public Works say the primary problem was an aging and failing fleet of plows and salters that need to be updated. At the DPW yard, there’s a “graveyard” of rotting and broken-down plows that were unusable during the storm.
There are several more trucks, plus snowblowers and a four-by-four being repaired by mechanics. Hackensack has nine large plows, but only two were on the road.
“They’re just rotted out. They’re old. They’re structurally unsound. The mechanics, I have to give them a lot of credit. They’ve tried to put anything they can that was economically feasible and physically feasible to put it back into shape," said Jesse D'Amore, superintendent of Hackensack DPW.
City officials say that because of the lack of proper equipment, cleanup is still taking place with snow being removed to Johnson Park.
Adding to the poor snow removal was a failure by residents to move their cars from the streets so they could be cleared.
“We’ve tried to plead with our residents. We had over 1,000 parking spaces available for residents in parking garages. Riverside Mall is generous to give us three levels of parking," said City Manager Tom Freeman.
Hackensack Police issued 200 tickets and towed 70 vehicles for failure to move cars.
Hackensack is hoping to purchase new equipment and increase manpower when it comes to workers with commercial drivers licenses.
