DSNY Issues Winter Operations Advisory for Monday, January 6 at 6:00 a.m.

January 5, 2025

A very small change to the track of this storm would bring up to four inches of snow to NYC, and the Strongest are staffed and prepared for the worst!

The New York City Department of Sanitation has issued a Winter Operations Advisory for Monday, January 6, 2025, beginning at 6:00 a.m. and continuing until midnight. A Winter Operations Advisory is the Department's "lower level" snow-fighting notification, as opposed to the "higher level" Snow Alert.

Current forecasts suggest that the City is likely to receive less than an inch of snow across several hours Monday, but New York City is very close to the "snow line" of substantial additional precipitation. It would only take a small change of approximately 50 miles to the storm's path to bring up to four inches to Staten Island, Brooklyn, and parts of Queens. As such, DSNY is planning and staffing for the worst-case scenario, and brining operations are already underway.

Because of the very cold and dry conditions heading into this weather event, DSNY is pre-treating roadways and bike lanes with brine today, Sunday. Brine helps prevent icing conditions before they form. Beginning midnight Monday, the Department will transition to salt spreading operations, and thousands of Sanitation Workers will be on 12-hour shifts Monday to ensure adequate staffing both for brine and salt operations and for the slim but real possibility that the storm turns to the north and hits New York City harder than anticipated. Department collection trucks are being fitted with plows, and plowing operations will begin at two inches of accumulation.

Until then, 700 salt spreaders are filled and ready to go. The Department has approximately 700 million pounds of salt on hand, a historically high wintertime headcount, and new high-tech ways of tracking snow operations.

New Yorkers should know: DSNY plans for the worst-case scenario. Do your part by staying off the roads or, if you absolutely must drive, by doing so slowly, safely, and carefully.

In a snow event, New York City's Sanitation Workers cover our streets, highways, and bike lanes, but all residents should remember that clearing snow from sidewalks is the property owners' responsibility. Property owners must to do their part to make sure that the sidewalks are passable.

All winter weather information and information about the City's response to the storm can be found by visiting the City's Severe Weather website at nyc.gov/severeweather or by calling 311.

Operations Update

Thanks to historic investments in DSNY, the Department's Workers and equipment are more prepared for winter weather than ever before.

Every street is on a route, and unlike in past years, every route can be dispatched at the same time, bringing equity in snow clearance to the entire City. Thanks to historic investments in DSNY, bike lanes will also be serviced simultaneously alongside car lanes. DSNY will be tracking these operations via the new Bladerunner 2.0 platform.

In the unlikely event that a plowable depths of 2" or more are reached, residents will be able to track the progress of DSNY snow removal vehicles at nyc.gov/PlowNYC. Remember, a plowed or salted street will not show blacktop right away.

Trash/Recycling Collection

There is no change to DSNY collection or to bin requirements at this time.

Snow Clearing Information

While DSNY clears streets and bike lanes, property owners are responsible for clearing sidewalks. As a reminder, property owners and car owners may NOT push snow into the street, including bike lanes. This impedes snow clearing operations and is illegal. Snow may be moved against the building, to the curb line, or areas on private property. Sidewalks should be passable for all pedestrians, including a minimum 4-foot clear path, where possible.

If the snow stops falling between:

• 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., property owners must clear sidewalks within 4 hours
• 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., property owners must clear sidewalks within 14 hours
• 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., property owners must clear sidewalks by 11 a.m.

The fine for failure to clear sidewalks is $100 for the first offense, $150 for the second offense and $250 for the third offense.

Alternate Side Parking

Alternate Side Parking is already suspended Monday, January 6, due to Three Kings' Day.

New Yorkers are also encouraged to sign up for NotifyNYC, the City's free emergency notification system, available in 14 languages including ASL. Through NotifyNYC, New Yorkers can sign up to receive phone calls, text messages, and emails alerts about severe weather events and emergencies. To sign up for Notify NYC, call 311, visit nyc.gov/notify or follow @NotifyNYC on Twitter.

Find information on Sanitation snow operations along with residents' responsibilities during and after snow at nyc.gov/snow.