The harsh winter weather is causing major complications for the city.
In the aftermath of winter storm Fern, a series of critical failures have unfolded, affecting Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s leftist support and jeopardizing his fledgling administration.
Nearly 2,000 residents in Crunchy Granola Park Slope remained without power for a second day following an outage from Con Edison. City Councilwoman Shahana Hanif (D-Brooklyn) reached out to Mamdani, her fellow member of the Democratic Socialist Party of America, seeking assistance.
With homes left cold and a nearby major road near Barclays Center devoid of traffic lights, Hanif used social media to send urgent messages, demanding “coordination and clear communication” from Mamdani, City Hall, and Con Edison.
“This is getting out of hand,” she expressed in one post. “Residents deserve better.”
In a similar vein, Councilmember Chi Ossé (D-Brooklyn) called upon Mamdani through social media, noting that residents in Bedford-Stuyvesant had taken shelter in hotels after enduring almost a week without power.
Queens Mayor Donovan Richards has distanced himself from Mamdani, citing disagreement over the handling of homeless encampments during the frigid conditions.
Just days prior, Mamdani announced free public tours of David N. Dinkins City Hall for June, while also disclosing that the number of fatalities attributed to the storm and the extreme cold had risen to 16 New Yorkers since January 24.
“The city’s efforts seem ineffective as the severe cold persists,” he remarked at an unrelated press event.
However, the optimism expressed by the mayor clashed with daunting challenges like the storm’s aftermath and rising death toll.
- Mamdani noted that 13 individuals succumbed to hypothermia while three others died from overdoses. He emphasized that it appeared none of those who died outdoors were in homeless encampments at the time, labeling prior clearing actions as a “failure.”
- He also reported that 18 individuals were removed from the streets due to potential threats to themselves or others, and claimed the city had created over 930 shelters and safe havens.
- Emergency medical personnel shared that navigating through large remaining snow piles posed significant challenges at city hospitals, complicating patient transport.
- A bit of a mess persists as cleaning crews focused on snow removal while neglecting growing piles of trash.
Besides the daunting snow piles obstructing roads and vehicles, perhaps the most conspicuous issue for New Yorkers is the ever-growing collection of trash and recycling.
A trash pile off East 88th Street, visible from Mamdani’s residence, featured prominently on the cover of recent publications, escalating in height as the day progressed.
Xavier Fernandez, the resident manager of an East End Avenue apartment building, shared that sanitation services had missed trash pickups three times since the storm, only managing to clear recycling lately. “This is the fourth time we’ve put trash out here, and it just keeps growing,” he remarked.
Other substantial piles of refuse gather in the financial district, where workers noted that collections had stopped since Monday.
“The trash collection for Monday is happening today, but recycling is about a day behind due to the snowfall we experienced,” a sanitation spokesperson stated.
The ongoing power issues in Brooklyn highlighted by Hanif and Ossé continued to be a concern as they sought aid.
A spokesperson for Con Edison indicated that the outage resulted from a combination of water and road salt infiltrating the underground system and noted that compacted snow and ice in the manholes have hindered repair efforts. “In some cases, there’s been snow built up on vehicles parked over the equipment, making access more complicated,” the spokesperson explained.
Tatiana Gudin, a resident stuck on a warming bus converted by the MTA, shared her frustration over the power outage that left her cold since Saturday night, urging Con Edison to “stop making excuses and do better.”
Hanif has called for Con Edison to assist residents with covering costs related to travel and temporary accommodations.
City officials stated they have maintained contact with Hanif since Sunday and are liaising with Con Edison for support.
