Politics & Government

Snow Update: The Roads In Forest Hills

Snow response so far seems much quicker, more thorough than Dec. 26.

Update: 11:48 a.m.: Bloomberg also stated that the GPS pilot program in Brooklyn was a success, and that the city will now be installing the devices in all sanitation trucks to help prevent miscommunications and plowing breakdowns in the future.

"Because these devices have been successful, we are going ahead and ordering GPS equipment for every garbage truck, it will give the commissioner information about where his resources are," Bloomberg said.

Update: 11:20 a.m.:

Find out what's happening in Forest Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg updated New Yorkers from Office of Emergency Management headquarters Wednesday morning. Praising the job done by city workers, the mayor said the storm — which tapered off between 4 and 5 a.m. — did not negatively affect the city's operations.

Noting that schools and government offices were open today, Bloomberg also said that 311 experienced its largest volume of calls in one hour ever between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m.

Find out what's happening in Forest Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"As of 9 a.m., 311 had received 155,000 calls," Bloomberg said. "As a matter of fact, between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., that one hour was 311's busiest hour ever, with 45,000 calls in one hour."

Bloomberg also said that by midday on Wednesday, every street in the city will have received at least one plowing.

So far it seems as if the snow has been largely plowed in the area, with no major reports of snarled traffic or blocked roadways.

According to the National Weather Service, 6.9 inches of snow fell at LaGuardia Airport, with slightly less hitting the ground at Kennedy International.

With snow in the area at depths of around 7-8 inches with drifts from plows over a foot, residents seem to be able to get to work and to school. Public schools in the area are open, while some private schools have been closed.

 Twitter and social media in Forest Hills, Middle Village and Rego Park seems to indicate a general satisfaction with the Department of Sanitation’s performance so far.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority said that most subway and bus lines are running normally, while the LIRR is running with some delays in the city and some major delays farther out on Long Island.

The city is still encouraging residents to submit their tips to 311, including photos of problem areas.

We have a few submitted snow photos to show, don’t be shy with your camera, let us know what your neighborhood looks like!


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