SEE IT: Plow Sprays Snow Off Overpass In Brooklyn; Cars Damaged Nearby
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Many New Yorkers are cleaning up a mess from Monday's storm. But in Brooklyn, some woke up to not only snow but also damaged cars.
And it's believed to have been caused by a snowplow.
CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis was on Park Avenue in Fort Greene, which runs right below the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Snowplows clearing the expressway sprayed snow onto the road and some of it may have landed on cars parked below, like one she saw with a broken rear window, leaving behind a lot of unhappy drivers.
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April Sneed showed CBS2 the damage to her car, a shocking sight to wake up to.
"I thought somebody had broken my car. That's what I thought. Ain't nobody hit the car. The snow came down off the BQE onto my car, so that's a big surprise," Sneed said.
It was a surprise to many drivers to find their car windows shattered.
"I had to clean inside and out, now shoveling my way out," Kimron Frederick said. "Somebody could have been in the car."
Plow truck Clearing snow from the Brooklyn queens expressway in Williamsburg.@NYCSanitation#bqe#Williamsburg #SnowStorm2021 #NewYorkCity#plowtruck#sanitation #NYC pic.twitter.com/sWiBQxIK8b
— NY Actions (@NY_ACTIONS) February 1, 2021
A video shows a plow truck on the BQE sending a wave of snow and slush onto the road below. The footage was captured near Wythe Avenue, about a mile from North Elliot Place. That's where the line of damaged cars appeared to begin. DeAngelis found at least a dozen.
Gil Talmi and Katie Madarasz-Talmi of Fort Greene said they were walking there and Gil actually got hit near Adelphi Street, but luckily walked away.
"He was in front of me. Something ... a massive like avalanche came like right at him and like threw him off balance," Katie said.
"And then we saw snow and sleet and ice coming off the BQE and we realized there's a snowplow just kicking everything off the railing, and as we we were looking down the street we noticed cars getting pummeled," Gil added.
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They called 311 and 911 to report it, but the damage was done. Now, they have been left with so many questions about how long this has been going on.
"How many cars have been destroyed by this? Is anyone doing anything about it? Do people know about it? Does the driver of this snow plow even know what's happening? It just seems insane," Katie Madarasz-Talmi said.
LISTEN: NYC Sanitation Commissioner Edward Grayson On Storm Cleanup Efforts
While the truck is not identifiable in the video -- and it's not clear if the truck was the culprit -- CBS2 went to the Department of Sanitation, which handles city snow plowing, to find out what precautions are being taken.
"It's arguable that it's one of our vehicles. We're the ones that are out there plowing," Commissioner Edward Grayson said. "So with this particular instance, it is plow speed and that will be our message just to reinforce we gotta take our time out there. We try to do everything slowly and methodically and in this case if it was us, we just regret what happened."
The Department of Sanitation said its drivers are trained and it will be using this as a learning opportunity.
CBS2 was told anyone with a damaged car can file a complaint with the city comptroller's office. To do so, please click here.
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