Second Snow Day Unlikely, Mayor Says (original) (raw)

Updated, 1:48 p.m. | Set free by their first snow day in five years, New York’s 1.1 million public school children already got their good news. A day of sledding. Even a postponed math test.

Here’s the reality check, from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg: “For those kids who were hoping for two consecutive snow days in a row, things can always change, but my suggestion is to do your homework.”

While schools are scheduled to reopen on Tuesday, the standardized math tests scheduled for third, fourth and fifth graders will be postponed a day to Wednesday. (The fourth-grade tests last three days.) The deadline for parents to visit schools to apply for kindergarten was extended to Friday.

The mayor and city officials briefed reporters at a city sanitation garage in Woodside, Queens. The storm, which has shut down roads, schools and government offices from Georgia to Maine, had dropped more than 8 inches by morning. At the New York region’s major airports, it caused hundreds of flights to be delayed or canceled.

By noon, however, the bulk of the expected snow had already fallen, the mayor said. “An inch or two more,” he said.

The mayor commended the more than 3,300 Department of Sanitation workers who worked through the night and day clearing roads.

With 6,000 miles of roads, he said: “It’s like plowing from here to Los Angeles and back. It’s really an amazing job.”

The city suspended alternate-side parking regulations for Monday and Tuesday. The rules normally require car owners to move their vehicles. Rules for metered parking remained in effect.

Mr. Bloomberg said that in general snowstorms cost the city about $1 million an inch, but declined to estimate the cost of the current storm. He said the city was well within its budget for snow removal.

The subways were running on schedule, but city buses were facing “relatively short delays” as did suburban commuter trains, Mr. Bloomberg said. Officials made the rare decision to briefly suspend the Staten Island Ferry in the early morning because of dangerous conditions, though service resumed by 5 a.m.

About 900 flights from city airports had already been canceled, with many more delayed. “With the high winds that’s going to continue to be a problem,” Mr. Bloomberg said.