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Just over 63% of students were in class following blizzard as city continues clean up

Mayor Zohran Mamdani says more than 2,600 sanitation workers have been working 12-hour shifts to plow every single road across the five boroughs.

Heather Fordham

Feb 24, 2026, 5:13 PM

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The city is working around the clock to clean up the mess left behind from its first blizzard in a decade.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani says more than 2,600 sanitation workers have been working 12-hour shifts to plow every single road across the five boroughs.

As of 1 p.m. on Tuesday, the city says more than 7,000 crosswalks and over 3,300 bus stops have been cleared, while snow continues to be blown by the wind, some areas will need to be readdressed.

Local, limited and express buses are operating with delays while a number of express trains are running locally.

Roughly 250 people have been placed into shelters since Saturday as an enhanced code blue remains in effect through Wednesday.

Schools

The mayor has faced criticism for his decision on sending kids and teachers back to the classroom a day after the blizzard.

Just over 63% of students showed up for school, although official attendance data will be finalized tomorrow, said Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels.

"First, New York Public Schools were not in a position to facilitate remote instruction, with students coming back from mid-winter break, it was not possible to ensure that enough students had the devices they needed to effectively participate in remote learning," the mayor said.

The mayor continued to say that public schools are critical to the health and wellness of students by providing childcare for parents, hot meals and mental health support.

"In-person schooling is a resource that our cities children and families depend on, when conditions are safe, our goal will always be to open schools," the mayor said.

On an average day there are 150,000 students who take the bus to school, the mayor says they received about 78 complaints of students not being able to access their buses. On bus routes, 15 routes reported delays.

"About 1,200 teachers called out today, we were able to have more than 5,000 substitute teacher's fill-in, in their places," the mayor said.

Trash, Recycling, Parking

Trash collection will resume on Wednesday at 6 p.m. but you can keep your recycling inside until Monday. The mayor says sanitation collection will be delayed as they transition tucks back from plows to collection trucks but expect regular collections service to resume on Monday.

Alternate side street parking is suspended until Sunday; however, meters are still in effect.

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