Officials show off new technology to battle snow ahead of expected snowy winter
NEW YORK - Rain is on the way this weekend, and no snow is in the forecast yet, but New York City is predicting a snowy winter.
To get ahead of it, Thursday morning the Mayor Eric Adams and the Department of Sanitation announced the latest technology they will use to clean up snow and apply salt.
"Forecasters are predicting a snowy winter. We are revolutionizing how to track our snow operations using technology to keep New Yorkers safe," Adams said.
A live demonstration Thursday with Adams and the Department of Sanitation showed how the city's latest high-tech system, dubbed "Blade Runner 2.0," works.
"We are using GPS data from our plows and our spreaders," DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Command center operators will be able to see color-coded maps of neighborhoods right down to the street. Green is good, showing the percentage of snow cleared. Red means plows haven't gotten there yet.
"If a supervisor saw it from their phones in a real snowstorm, you can be sure we would be on the phone with supers in Queens... getting more plowing assets out the door," Tisch said.
Adams said the system also allows the Sanitation Department to clean all five boroughs in a more fair, equitable way.
"No more systems of first, second and third tier streets, in which different communities received different levels of service," Adams said. "We can't see snow plows on the Upper East Side and not in Brownsville, not in East New York."
Last month, budget cuts to city agencies were announced, including $5.5 million from the Sanitation Department, but Tisch said it will not affect snow cleanup.
"We are headed into the snow season with the highest headcount of sanitation workers that we've had in decades, and 600 more than the last time we fought snow," Tisch said. "Also in the last year and a half, about half a billion dollars worth of new sanitation trucks."
DSNY says they've also made big investments in equipment to remove snow from bike lanes, and the new technology will also help them see which lanes haven't been cleared.
That's sitting well with New Yorkers we spoke to.
"Thumbs up. Yes. Absolutely, 100% a good investment," one person said.
"I think it could work. I think it's a very good investment," said another.
If you want to follow along this snow season, check out PlowNYC, which allows members of the public to track the progress of snow removal vehicles, so you'll know if and when snow has been cleaned from your block, and report it it hasn't.
Officials are also reminding New Yorkers to sign up for Notify NYC, a way to stay informed about any emergencies in New York City.