Cameras, GPS Installed to Oversee Plowing

Assurances are being made by Mayor Mike Bloomberg that—this time— transit hiccups forewarned by the National Weather Service will be allayed by city efforts.

“First, one of the big problems that hindered our response last week was that we didn’t have as much information as possible about our snow-clearing operations,” Bloomberg said. “That created a discrepancy between the information coming into and out of City Hall and what people were actually experiencing on the streets – which, understandably, led to a lot of confusion and frustration."

A Winter Weather Advisory issued late this morning by NWS predicts two to three inches of snow accumulation as well as “travel difficulties” in Northeast Queens and other locations around the city and Nassau County.

“We have 1,700 snow plows and 365 salt spreaders at the ready – as we do for every storm,” said Bloomberg, admitting also, “while I realize there were problems with the City’s snow cleaning efforts last week, we want to ensure all New Yorkers that we are doing everything in our power to make sure we don’t experience those kinds of problems again.”  

Bloomberg said he is deploying SCOUT units, which observe quality of life issues throughout the year. The SCOUTs will carry video cameras to transmit live feeds of neighborhood conditions and roadways to City Hall.  

“Whether those will be useful or not, I don’t know,” said Bloomberg, adding, “but we are going to try it and have it, and if we need it maybe it can add something to our efforts.” 

In an apparent response to accusations of mismanagement, or a willful work slow down on the part of some Department of Sanitation Supervisors, the mayor also said the city will be bugging 50 Brooklyn sanitation trucks with GPS tracking devices.

“It gives us the ability to check on the location and progress of our snowplows or garbage pickup, and these GPS devices will also allow two-way communication, giving our Sanitation workers a way to contact their district supervisors if they experience problems or spot something unusual out in the field,” the mayor said.