NEW YORK (WABC) — As Mayor Zohran Mamdani works to get New York City back to normal after the winter storm, he announced that city schools will return to in-person learning on Tuesday.
“As dedicated city workers mobilized across all five boroughs to clear our streets and keep New Yorkers safe, teachers and students this morning came together online – reading, learning and staying connected,” said Mayor Mamdani. “Thanks to the round-the-clock work of our schools facilities teams, we are ready to welcome students and staff back to classrooms tomorrow.”
Parts of New York City received nearly a foot of snow on Sunday, prompting city schools to switch to virtual learning for Monday.
“Our goal is for all services to be fully restored by tomorrow, with all streets cleared, students back at school in person and our city back to normal, albeit with a lot of snow piled up,” Mamdani said.
LIVE UPDATES: Winter Storm coverage
After facing his first snowstorm as mayor of New York, Mamdani said over 5,000 sanitation workers used 2,500 pieces of equipment to pour brine, dispense tens of millions of pounds of salt and plow every street in the city.
“The strength of our response is a testament to all of those who put in long shifts,” the mayor said on Monday. “New York was prepared, and New York weathered the storm.”
The mayor said the city school system saw 400,000 virtual log-ons Monday between parents, students and staff.
He said 500,000 students were scheduled for school Monday as grades six through 12 were already observing a previously scheduled Professional Development Day.
Kemberly Richardson has more on Monday’s remote learning for NYC public school students.
After saying he visited a classroom remotely Monday morning, Mamdani said he reiterated his offer to students that they could hit him in the face with a snowball.
“They were very excited about that and asked for a time and place,” the mayor said. “I said you can find me anywhere in New York City.”
In addition to in-person learning, all after-school programs, adult education and other school-based programming were canceled Monday but will resume Tuesday.
UFT President gave Mamdani an A for his first snow day.
“Mayor Mamdani gets an A for his first snow day. He led by example,” said Michael Mulgrew, president of the 200,000-member United Federation of Teachers. “I want to thank our students, educators, administrators, and families. We all came together to make the remote day as engaging and as smooth as possible. The one glitch seemed to be Google. They had the same notice as our students, parents, and teachers, so they need to do better.”
As for cleanup efforts, there is still work to be done.
Sonia Rincon has more on the efforts underway to get the city back to normal.
Cleared streets means passable for emergency vehicles, but with so much snow still around, Alternate Side Parking rules are suspended for at least another day, and some of the corners are looking rough.
“Those huge mounds of snow can’t stay at the corners,” said Department of Sanitation Commissioner Javier Lojan. “They need to be hauled away, and as New Yorkers address their sidewalks, bike lanes and roadways will still need additional passes from DSNY.”
Some sidewalks still haven’t gotten a first pass.
“And I also want to ask New Yorkers to be patient with garbage collection, as DSNY prioritizes snow removal in the immediate short-term,” Mamdani said.
Snow removal doesn’t just mean moving it.
“We will soon activate snow melting operations, setting up large machines that each can melt up to 120 tons per hour,” Lojan said.
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