Transcript: Mayor Adams Briefs Media on Preparations for Expected Winter Weather

January 18, 2025

Watch video here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fs0SeJBryk

Deputy Mayor Camille Joseph Varlack, Administration: Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Camille Joseph Varlack, and I am the chief of staff, deputy mayor for Administration, and extreme weather coordinator for City Hall.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a snow system that will move into the area beginning around noon tomorrow, with freezing temperatures expected throughout the week. The safety of all New Yorkers remains our top priority. To share more details about the forecast and how we are preparing, I will now turn it over to Mayor Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thanks so much, Camille. And thanks to the men and women of the Department of Sanitation, OEM, DOT, and just the team. And oftentimes Commissioner Iscol raised the point of how the focus of this administration is how our agencies coordinate to really deal with not only emergencies but just day-to-day practices here in the city, and that coordination is going to be front and center as we deal with the weather that we are seeing in the next few days.
There's a clear cold-weather pattern that's hitting the city starting tomorrow night and continuing through Wednesday. Snow is part of that, and that will begin late Sunday morning through midnight. And we're expecting up to two to five inches of snow.
But as you know, Mother Nature will do what she does all the time. And it is unexpected, but we will be prepared no matter what. No one handles these snow weather conditions better than a DSNY. And we're going to make sure it's done at this time. This is a chance. There's a chance of heavy snow with up to seven to eight inches. And so we're going to be prepared with all of the equipment that is needed to be ready to make sure our roads continue to move forward. Temperatures will drop into the 20s Sunday night and will continue dropping through Wednesday. The worst of the cold will be from Monday night through Wednesday night, as temperatures will not get above the teens.
Wind chills will drop temperatures even further down, between zero and five degrees. The snow and cold can result in widespread travel, emergencies and just disruptions, so we're asking people to use public transportation as they move around the city. And we also urge New Yorkers to limit their travel so the snow plows and the equipment can do what is needed to keep our streets clean. Preparations are already underway.
As you can see, our salt spreaders and the other heavy equipment that is used during snow conditions. And our plows are ready to clean up every street in every neighborhood as needed. Our team at Sanitation also has equipment and the personnel to clear car lanes and bike lanes at the same time. We have extra staff on duty to help with the anticipated snowfall and cold conditions. And really want to thank all of our agencies that are involved, all of our commissioners are coordinating to make sure that we can get the streets ready and operable as we move deeper into the week.
With the snow and cold, it could make extreme icy conditions on our streets, so we should be prepared. We're pleased that the schools are closed on Monday for the acknowledgment of Dr. King's birthday. And this is going to allow us to really move at a faster tick with not having the school buses on the road.
So, remember, cold temperatures, high winds tomorrow, could be dangerous. And we're doing everything possible to protect New Yorkers. We're asking New Yorkers to call 311 if they need assistance for heating or pipe freezing. We have a code blue. It has been issued for unsheltered New Yorkers. So if you see someone in need, please, please call 311 and sign up for NotifyNYC for the latest weather updates and alerts.
And so, remember, check on neighbors. Make sure that they know about any heating conditions, that they can call 311 to report the lack of heat in their buildings. But we have to be here for each other and make sure our pets and other parts of New York are safe as we navigate through this cold weather condition we expect.
Deputy Mayor Varlack: Thank you, sir. At this time, we'll ask Commissioner Zach Iscol to come up and give us a readout on current conditions.
Commissioner Zach Iscol, New York City Office of Emergency Management: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, deputy mayor. And it's great to be here with all of you. And also Commissioner Lojan and our team here. Before I begin, I just want to reiterate some of the mayor's remarks and express my real, my sincere gratitude to all the city workers who are already hard at work preparing for this weekend storm. You know, we have the sanitation crews that are out there getting ready, our emergency managers who have been coordinating the response on this holiday weekend, our first responders who will be out on the front lines. Every single one of them is essential to keeping our city and New Yorkers safe.
We deeply appreciate your dedication and the sacrifices you make, especially during challenging weather conditions and other emergencies. NYCEM's Winter Weather Alert has been issued for Sunday, January 19th through Monday, January 20th. As Mayor Adams mentioned, we are expecting two to five inches of snow accumulation with the potential for higher amounts if the forecast changes. As temperatures drop below freezing, we are concerned about hazardous travel conditions due to icy roads and sidewalks.
New York City Emergency Management, we are actively coordinating with the National Weather Service, with our city agencies and utility companies to ensure a comprehensive response to this winter storm. We have enhanced staffing at our watch command and our response unit to maintain 24/7 situational awareness around the city and to be able to respond immediately to any situations that may arise.
Beyond the snow, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that we are also looking at a prolonged period of extreme cold weather through at least Thursday. Wind chills potentially dropping to the single digits or lower. We're working with DEP and our utility partners to monitor the city's infrastructure and HPD and 311 to monitor heat and hot water complaints.
These temperatures next week are a very serious concern, especially for vulnerable populations. We will be issuing cold weather alerts and working closely with our Department of Social Services to ensure that homeless New Yorkers have access to shelter and to warmth. While they can actively conduct their outreach, as the mayor said, please don't hesitate to call 311 if you see someone vulnerable who may need housing. And of course in emergencies, you can always call and should call 911.
We urge all New Yorkers to take this storm seriously, prepare for hazardous conditions. Just as the city prepares, here are some things that you can do. If you must travel, use mass transit if possible and allow for extra time. Exercise caution on roads and sidewalks as they may be slippery. As my kids who are here just reminded me, the salt on the sidewalks can be a concern for pets. So make sure you're putting those booties on your dogs when you're walking them and cleaning their feet when they come inside.
Also, please check in on your neighbors, especially older adults and those with disabilities. Please also monitor the forecast, take steps to stay warm. If you don't have heat or hot water, call your building manager. If it is not resolved, call 311. In emergencies call 911. And always please subscribe to Notify NYC for the latest updates and alerts. It's available in 14 languages, including American Sign Language. So as you can see, the city is prepared. We urge all New Yorkers to also do their part. Stay informed, make a plan, take necessary precautions, protect yourselves and your loved ones. Thank you so much.
Deputy Mayor Varlack: Thank you, commissioner. And before we take questions, we will have Acting DSNY Commissioner Lohan brief us on operational updates.
Acting Commissioner Javier Lojan, Department of Sanitation: Thank you deputy mayor, thank you Commissioner Iscol and thank you, Mayor Adams for joining us today for and for historic investments you have made in this department. Thanks to your leadership we have more personnel equipment and technology for snow fighting than at any other point in my 26 year career with New York Strongest.
That's the number one thing I want New Yorkers to know. If you made a bet that it doesn't snow in New York anymore, you're about to lose big time. And if you're going to double or nothing that the City of New York has forgotten how to fight a plowable storm, let's just say you shouldn't quit your day job. At this time tomorrow, snow will be falling across the city, reaching a plowable depth of two inches by around 4 p.m.
By that time, thousands of sanitation workers will have been working on 12-hour shifts to affix plows to our collection trucks, to spread soil on every roadway and bike lane in the and to make sure that you and your families can enjoy the holiday weekend.
As a reminder, alternate side parking and trash collection are both already suspended Monday due to the MLK Jr. Day holiday. Residents can expect normal collection to resume Monday evening as previously announced. Heading into the snow event, we now have specialized vehicles and the internal management technology necessary to ensure that no street is forgotten and that no neighborhood is left behind. The days of primary, secondary, and tertiary streets are long over thanks to this commitment to snow equity. We have also activated a plan that includes vehicles from New York City Parks, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and the New York City Department of Transportation.
I want to thank Commissioners Donoghue, Aggarwala, and Rodriguez for their partnership in this effort. When we reach two inches of snow, we will activate the Plow NYC platform, and you can follow the plowing progress at nyc.gov/plowNYC.
We'll be out there doing our jobs, and there are two things New Yorkers can do to help us. First, please stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary. If you must drive, do it slowly, carefully, and with an awareness that a crash doesn't just put you at risk, it slows down snow removal and makes the entire area around you less safe.
Second, remember that while the strongest clear the streets and bike lanes, sidewalks are the responsibility of the property owner. We are not afraid to write summonses and if that's what it takes to get pedestrian infrastructure safe and passable on Monday after the storm.
I'll now say a few words in Spanish. Gracias al alcalde Adams, nos enfrentamos a esta tormenta de nieve con más equipos personal y tecnología que en ningún otro momento de mis 26 años de carrera. Trabajamos las 24 horas del día en turnos de 12 horas pero necesitamos que todos los Neoyorquinos se mantengan seguros y no salgan a las carreteras. Gracias. Thank you.
Translation: Thanks to Mayor Adams, we faced this snowstorm with more personnel equipment and technology than at any other time in my 26-year career. We work 24 hours a day in 12-hour shifts but we need all New Yorkers to stay safe and stay off the roads. Thank you.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Commissioner Iscol: So, Code Blue, it's when we hit certain temperature thresholds. We do outreach with our Department of Social Services to vulnerable New Yorkers that are out on the street. There's also Enhanced Code Blue for even colder temperatures, where we do more sustained operations.
Mayor Adams: What's your name? Where'd I get those gloves from? Those are heated gloves, right? Battery, battery heated gloves. Okay, I got to catch you later to find out. Okay, we're going to excuse the team so they can get ready to lift the snow so I could answer Katie's questions about my visit to Florida, you know. Thank you guys. Thank you.
Question: I just wanted to ask, I mean, your offices, as you said, you were willing to go down for your administration. You did seem to have a meeting, as well, with another person. I'm curious. Why take someone's [inaudible].
Mayor Adams: That's a long question. Okay, first, Frank lived in Florida. He joined the meeting. I was glad he joined. It was good to see him. You know, it wasn't a sunny day that day. And so he-there was nothing inappropriate about it, illegal, about him coming there.
And listen, I wanted to minimize taxpayers' dollars, you know, who was coming down. You don't tell the president who he wants to sit down and talk to. He wanted a small conversation as he is getting ready to move into the presidency. I enjoyed the conversation. We talked about the issue of the City of New York. I made this clear a few days earlier that I was seeking to sit down and talk to the president about the issues concerning this city, infrastructure, the migrant asylum seeker issues, the settlement of the crises in the Middle East. This impacts my Jewish population, my Muslim population.
And I'm the mayor of the biggest city in America. I'm supposed to speak with the president, like I spoke with President Biden. I met with President Biden about real issues, public safety issues. I met with President Biden about the migrants and asylum seekers.
You know, this is what the mayor of the City of New York is supposed to do. And when I answered the question over and over again about, you know, my case, I have an attorney to handle that. And I'm not going to keep answering the same question over and over again. And if people want to speculate, they have a right to speculate. That's what it is to be in America, speculation.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Adams: I answered over and over again. Yes?
Question: So, in your administration, you mentioned massive ICE raids. So these ICE raids happen in New York City, will the NYPD be cooperating with ICE [inaudible], and how are you handling the ICE raids?
Mayor Adams: Again, I answered that over and over again, and I'm not going to keep doing the same questions over and over again about the cooperation of city agencies. The law is the law. The next question.
Question: I wanted to ask you, Donald Trump, [inaudible] Democratic electorate in New York City, and, Reverend Sharpton has talked a little bit recently about Trump, and that's particularly true in the Black community, and that's important to you, [inaudible]. He wants to say yesterday [inaudible.]
Mayor Adams: I'm gonna go one step further, because you have always fairly covered stories. Set up a sit-down where you and I could sit down and we could have an in-depth conversation about where I am right now, so it won't be in just a soundbite. But I will just say this on a higher level. Donald Trump received the popular vote. Donald Trump received the electoral vote. America has communicated in a very loud and clear voice that we need to do something about our borders. America has communicated about how we need to build our economy and make sure jobs stay here. They have communicated around affordability.
And I cannot say it any clearer. I pledge allegiance to the United States of America, not to a party. The party that's in office took $6.9 billion out of our city. I cannot say it any clearer. And so, when we talk about what may happen, we need to be honest about what happened. And so we have a new president coming in, and when that president comes in, he has a mayor in this city that is not going to be warring with him. I'm going to be working with him to deliver for the people of this city. I fight for New Yorkers, and I'm going to always do that. But I look forward to sitting down and having a deeper conversation with you on where I am right now and what we need to do to move this city forward.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Adams: The - again, this was a high-level conversation of working together for a city that the president has acknowledged he loves, and that he wants to make sure that this city continues to move forward under this administration. We have been able to do so. We were hampered by losing $6.9 billion - and I'm going to keep saying that number over and over again, so it can resonate with New Yorkers, that we lost $6.9 billion under this administration that went away from our children, our families, our streets, our security.
And so, my conversation with him was a high-level conversation of working together. I'm looking forward to meeting his administration, that seems to be moving through the process of how to be appointed. I'm looking forward to that. I'm looking forward to ensuring that this city gets what it deserves.
And so that was our general conversation. And I am optimistic about the future of this city under a president that comes from this city and under a president that loves this city. And so we have something in common. He loves New York. I love New York. And that means a lot to me.
Question: [Inaudible].
Mayor Adams: I'm still trying to decide how I'm moving and how I'm traveling. And I wake up in the morning, and the teams give me my schedule, and I decide how to move. It's Dr. King's birthday. I have BAM and I have other events to do on that day. I know it was moved inside because it's going to be cold. So once I decide, we put out our public schedule every day, and you guys are not going to be surprised.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: Are you concerned about protests, and [inaudible.]
Mayor Adams: You know, protest is part of New York. We had 3,000 protests in 2024. That's what we do in New York. That's what we do in America. We protest. And the beauty is we have the right to protest. You know, Dr. King, as we acknowledge his birthday, he led some of the most important protests of our time.
There's nothing wrong with protests. There's nothing wrong with disagreeing. I mean, that's just-I don't know why people feel disagreeing is the worst thing to do. Democracy is not frictionless. Democracy is about raising your voice on what you support, what you like and what you dislike. And no matter what you do, there's 8.3 million New Yorkers. There's 35 million opinions. You know, so, you know, we're going to be-people are going to be protesting. No matter what you do, there's going to be protesting. And again, I'm looking forward to the next four years of having a president that loves this city like I love this city, and we're going to do what's needed to move this city forward for everyday New Yorkers.
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