Weathering the Big Freeze Out
Storm Hercules has passed, dumping about eight inches of fluffy white snow, temperatures have dropped to single digits, risen to the upper fifties accompanied by rain showers via Winter Storm Ion Monday morning, and now will drop to frigid single numbers again overnight, creating an icing event that could prove dangerous.
The weather indeed is the top story these past few days.
While the kids and some parents came out to play over the weekend there was a lot of serious work going on. In White Plains, DPW (Department of Public Works) crews kept roads clear as the Mayor’s office asked residents to remove cars from all city streets overnight on Thursday. Free parking was offered for vehicles registered to addresses within the City of White Plains at Hamilton-Main and Chester-Maple Parking Garages for a 24-hour period from 5 p.m. Thursday.
The City’s ban on overnight on-street parking from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. was strictly enforced and will continue to be throughout the season. “Cars left on the streets create cleanup problems leading to hazardous conditions,” said Karen Pasquale, Special Advisor to the Mayor, in an email.
Pasquale also noted that a report by DPW Commissioner Bud Nicoletti indicated the City was about one-third of the way through its snow removal budget, about $1 million, including over-time, diesel fuel, truck repair and maintenance as well as supplies of salt and brine.
DPW received an order of salt on Wednesday and has more on order to meet future storms.
Because of the extremely cold weather, DPW mixes the salt with calcium chloride to help boost its effectiveness.
Despite snow cleanup efforts, regular trash removal and recycling crews came through on Friday as scheduled.
The County opened shelters for families and individuals seeking relief from the frigid temperatures. A 24-hour hotline at 914-995-2099 is available seven days a week.
Similarly, White Plains asks residents in multi-family buildings that have no heat, and which have not received a satisfactory response from the building manager or superintendent as to the cause of the problem, to contact the City Building Department at 422-1269 or 422-1287 during normal business hours and the Department of Public Safety non-emergency line at 422-6111 after normal business hours.
There have been no power emergencies over the weekend however residents are encouraged to report downed power lines and power outages to Con Edison on line at www.coned.com or by calling 1-800-75-CONED.
In case of emergencies, the City of White Plains utilizes a system called CodeRed to communicate important information to residents and business owners. Right now, CodeRed utilizes landlines as the primary means of contact. The City encourages residents and business owners to add their mobile phone number and email address to the CodeRed Community Notification system. Go to www.cityofwhiteplains.com and click on the CodeRed Registration link on the home page to add your information.
