Original Article on Crains New York

Jeremy Smerd - As the largest snowstorm in recent memory approached and touched down on the city just after Christmas, Bloomberg administration officials not once but twice chose not to declare a snow emergency. In hindsight, it was a decisive non-decision and a crucial mistake, a deputy mayor said. Calling a snow emergency over the Christmas weekend would have done more than simply ban cars from traveling and parking on emergency routes, said Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith during testimony Monday before the City Council. We believe that declaring an emergency could have provided a triggering event for those city agencies and other entities that utilize such a declaration as a catalyst for action, Mr. Goldsmith said, and by the public, whic...(read more)