Weight Of Snow Collapses Sports Dome In Mount Vernon
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- The weight of heavy snow caused a sports dome to collapse in Westchester County.
It happened around 12: 30 p.m. at the Sports Underdome on Garden Avenue in Mount Vernon. One woman was inside when it happened, but was able to get out and no one was hurt, CBS2's Brian Conybeare reported.
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Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas said owners need to "take more care of their property."
"The city has not collapsed in its snow response -- our first responders, police and fire were on the scene right away to make sure no one was hurt, everything was under control, but with respect to snow removal, we've been on top of that all day," he told Conybeare.
Workers were seen trying to keep a second dome next door, called the Ice Hutch, from collapsing, Conybeare reported. Crews scaled the bubble with ropes and what appeared to be mountain climbing gear and were using shovels to remove the snow.
"That's what you call responsibility and that operator has care and custody of their property. And that's the kind of conversation we're going to have with the Sports Underdome tomorrow," said Thomas. "I understand there are occupational hazards and things can go bad at any given time, my understanding is that this property has had this experience before and it's not something I'm pleased to hear about."
By midday Saturday, 10 inches of snow was being reported in Mount Vernon. Eight inches of snow was reported in White Plains while Armonk was seeing nearly six inches.
A blizzard warning remains in effect for southern Westchester until 7 a.m. Sunday. In northern Westchester, a winter storm warning is also in effect until 7 a.m. Sunday.
Despite the snow totals, County Executive Rob Astorino said the storm could have been worse.
"There are very few outages throughout the county, so right now, the snow is pretty light and fluffy as opposed to heavy and that was the one thing we were really concerned about. So for all intents and purposes, it's really just a snowstorm," he told WCBS 880.
Astorino said they were lucky that storm came on a Saturday.
"The calls for service are fairly low, really not a lot of accidents, if any, or spin outs," he said. "It's very light and that's good, that gives us the chance to do what we need to do."
The Bee-Line bus service was suspended in the county on all routes at 11 a.m. Saturday while Metro-North Railroad suspended service at 4 p.m.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said officials will make an assessment about Metro-North trains at 6 a.m. Sunday.
A speed restriction of 45 miles per hour remains in place at the Tappan Zee Bridge.
In Yonkers, Mayor Mike Spano declared a State of Emergency, ordering non-emergency vehicles off the road.
