DSNY Issues Winter Operations Advisory for Wednesday, February 12 Beginning at 4:00 p.m. | City of New York

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DSNY Issues Winter Operations Advisory for Wednesday, February 12 Beginning at 4:00 p.m.

February 12, 2025

ANOTHER slushy evening expected tonight – but the Strongest are ready!

The New York City Department of Sanitation has issued a Winter Operations Advisory for Wednesday, February 12, beginning at 4:00 p.m. and continuing until 6:00 a.m. Thursday. A Winter Operations Advisory is the Department's "lower level" snow-fighting notification, as opposed to the "higher level" Snow Alert.

This afternoon or early evening, snow will hit parts of the City for the third time this week, putting down a slushy coating before transitioning to sleet and rain closer to midnight. Coming on the heels of multiple other winter weather events, New York's Strongest are already on 12-hour shifts, 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/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 plowable depths of 2" or more is 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, however delays are possible given the back-to-back snow events. Residents should place material out for collection on their regular schedule.

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 suspended Thursday, 2/13, to facilitate snow operations.

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.

pressoffice@dsny.nyc.gov