DSNY Issues Winter Operations Advisory for Sunday, February 2 at 4:00 p.m.

February 2, 2025

Little to no accumulation expected, but colder than anticipated temperatures tonight necessitate salt operations ahead of Monday morning commute 

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has issued a Winter Operations Advisory for Sunday, February 2, 2025, beginning at 4:00 p.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 precipitation will begin in the mid-afternoon; while rain had been anticipated, temperatures are lower than expected across the City today and the precipitation is likely to fall as snow. This kind of "rain/snow border" event is common in New York City, and is part of why DSNY maintains differentiated staffing levels during the winter season -- to ensure personnel are available for de-icing and snow removal even when the possibility of snow emerges at the last minute. 

The primary concern in this weather event is ensuring that a light coating of snow does not turn to ice during a cold Sunday night ahead of a Monday morning commute. As such, DSNY will be salting areas of the City anticipated to receive the most frozen precipitation late into the night. There is no anticipated change to collection operations tomorrow, and New Yorkers should continue to follow their regular schedule for trash, recycling, and compostable material.

More than 700 salt spreaders are filled and ready to go, and 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 is working to ensure your safety. Do your part both for yourself and for the Strongest by staying off the roads during active precipitation 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 can be found at nyc.gov/snow 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 rules are in effect.

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.

Press Release #25-006