Hunterites May Need to Do More Than Bundle Up
Update from Len Zinnanti, Chief Operating Officer: Hunter College classes are cancelled today, Wednesday, February 10, 2010. The College will remain open. All staff are expected to make every effort to work their regular schedule.
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City officials have closed public schools for Wednesday. New Yorkers are encouraged to use public transportation to reduce the number vehicles on the roads. The National Weather Service’s Storm Warning for New York City is until Thursday morning, February 11. Snowfall totals may reach 13 inches, and high winds will reduce visibility. Residents should take public transportation and give themselves extra time for their commutes.
— “Other City agencies are also making storm preparations right now. As we speak, the Sanitation Department is already on split, 12-hour shifts, with 2,100 workers assigned to each shift. As today’s refuse and recycling pickups are completed, sanitation trucks are being fitted with snow plows. And tonight, as a first line of defense, the department will deploy 365 salt spreaders to salt highways, primary roads, and bus routes.”
— “The MTA is taking steps to ensure that subway, bus, commuter rail and bridges and tunnels remain safely operable tomorrow although in some cases some service may be reduced, particularly for Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road trains. Subway trains will be stored underground in tunnels instead of normal storage at outside yards. The MTA has 31 salt trucks to help spread salt on bus routes, and all of the MTA bridges and tunnels will be plowed and salted regularly.”
— “Our first responders, you should know, are also putting emergency plans into effect. The Office of Emergency Management also will activate its Situation Room at 6 a.m. Wednesday and representatives of key City agencies will be there to monitor the progress of the storm.”
— “The Fire Department will be staffing additional ambulance tours. And because heavy snow makes firefighting that much more difficult, we’re also adding a fifth firefighter to all engine companies.”
— “The NYPD is taking what it calls ‘Plan A’ severe winter weather precautions. Police will survey roads for stranded motorists, and will be on the lookout for fallen electric wires. And incidentally this snow storm is predicted to heavy wet snow, which is about the worst thing you can possibly have for overhead lines because the trees can’t stand the weight. Branches fall off or the trees themselves fall down, taking down the power lines so I would urge you to have at home milk and flashlights with new batteries and anything you need if you can’t get out and if you do not have electricity.”