{"id":575076,"date":"2026-02-08T11:36:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T11:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/575076\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T11:36:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T11:36:52","slug":"mamdani-failed-to-recruit-enough-emergency-snow-shovelers-for-nyc-storm-critics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/575076\/","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani failed to recruit enough emergency\u00a0snow\u00a0shovelers for NYC storm: critics"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Mamdani administration dropped the snowball by failing to recruit enough emergency\u00a0shovelers for the recent winter storm<\/a> that dropped nearly a foot of\u00a0snow\u00a0on the Big Apple, critics said.<\/p>\n

As of Tuesday, 1,800 people were signed up for the temporary work this winter season, and a peak of 550 were out shoveling bus stops, crosswalks and other public areas since the Jan. 25-26 storm that continues to delay trash pickup<\/a> and many other city services, a City Hall source said.<\/p>\n

In comparison, 6,454 shovelers were recruited for the 2015-16 winter season \u2013 which saw nearly 33 inches fall on Central Park \u2013 and up to 3,500 shovelers simultaneously worked at peak times that winter. <\/p>\n

The Mamdani administration dropped the snowball by failing to recruit enough emergency\u00a0shovelers for the recent winter storm that dropped nearly a foot of\u00a0snow\u00a0on the Big Apple, critics said. Stephen Lovekin\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The Big Apple until two weeks ago had been blessed with mild winters most of the past decade, making emergency snow shovelers less of a priority.<\/p>\n

But amid this brutal winter, the city only recently beefed up recruiting efforts for the $19.14-an-hour jobs through ads and social media posts.<\/a><\/p>\n

Critics say it\u2019s another black mark on how Mamdani handled his first crisis as mayor. He\u2019s already facing plenty of heat over mass gridlock, unplowed streets and mounds of neglected trash.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce it became clear that we were going to have a major storm on our hands, the city should have gone all-out in advertising for\u00a0snow\u00a0laborer jobs,\u201d said Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens).<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead we saw a half-hearted outreach effort, and as a result we still have crosswalks and bus stops blocked two weeks after the\u00a0snowfall.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Council Minority Leader David Carr (R-Staten Island) praised city sanitation workers for\u00a0doing the best they could under tough conditions that included nine consecutive days of subfreezing weather <\/a>but added the \u201cadministration dropped the ball when they didn\u2019t hire snow shovelers as early as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Critics say the failure to recruit enough emergency snow shovelers is another black mark on how Zohran Mamdani handled his first crisis as NYC mayor. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who looked at a forecast two weeks ago could have easily foreseen that this prolonged arctic blast was going to make snow removal extremely difficult unless they got ahead of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow parts of our city seem to be stuck in another ice age.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniel Hill, communications director for the nonprofit security group Cityline Ozone Park Civilian Patrol, said the snow laborer \u201cshortage\u201d is obvious this winter, adding in \u201cpast years, our community was covered by way more workers who had our [fire] hydrants and [street] corners cleared way faster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Delivery workers on bicycles navigate a treacherous bike lane Wednesday covered in snow and slick black ice in Midtown Manhattan Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very concerning that we\u2019re still feeling the effects [nearly two weeks] after it\u2019s snowed. I hope the city can get more snow laborers in place to take care of our communities the next time it snows.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sanitation Department issued a statement claiming the 2015 comparison is \u201cmisleading\u201d considering there\u2019s since been changes to local weather patterns, the snow laborer program and \u201cthe nature of work post-pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the largest deployment of emergency snow shovelers since the pandemic, and it included extremely rare night shifts, making this a round-the-clock effort that we have not seen in years,\u201d the agency said.<\/p>\n

The agency also said it has \u201cone of the highest workforces in recent memory, as well as dozens of pieces of smaller, specialized equipment that can do some of the work previously done\u201d by the emergency workers.<\/p>\n

People interested in the temporary job can register through the Sanitation Department\u2019s website provided they\u2019re at least 18 years and eligible to work in the United States.<\/p>\n

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