City Council presses DSNY on snow cleanup as disability advocates say conditions remain dangerous
The hearing was led by Council member Shahana Hanif, chair of the Committee on Disability Conditions.
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New York City’s response to recent winter storms is under scrutiny as the City Council examines why sidewalks, curb ramps and bus stops across the city remained buried in snow and ice long after streets were cleared.
The hearing was led by Council member Shahana Hanif, chair of the Committee on Disability Conditions.
The Department of Sanitation pointed to what it called record response times and a surge in emergency snow‑shoveling staff from roughly 500 workers during the season’s first storm to more than 2,000 during the most recent one. But disability advocates said cutting response time down to a number of days was still too slow.
Residents in hard-hit Bronx neighborhoods such as the Grand Concourse, Morrisania and Woodlawn, as well as south Brooklyn neighborhoods like Sheepshead Bay and Midwood, reported towering snowbanks at bus stops and on corners, along with confusion over who is responsible for clearing them. Plows often pushed snow back onto sidewalks that volunteers or property owners had already shoveled, leaving many areas impassable.
Disability advocates told councilmembers that the city’s current rules, which require property owners to clear four feet of sidewalk in front of their buildings, including at bus stops, cause confusion and make for dangerous crossing conditions.
Several said they or their neighbors could not attend the hearing because they were effectively snowed in.
“I am a wheelchair user and a senior, I almost was not here today because someone on my block did not shovel their property,” said Jean Ryan, president of Disabled in Action. “The city prioritizes cars, not pedestrians. We need a better system to correctly shovel out bus stops and curbs. It cannot fall on property owners.”
Advocates urged the city to expand the role of emergency volunteers and sanitation crews to ensure that sidewalks and transit access points remain safe after storms.
The Council plans to continue reviewing DSNY’s practices as it considers potential policy changes.
