What a disaster: Ambulances unavailable. Trains stalled for hours. Streets unplowed. Fire trucks stuck in the snow. Buses canceled.
These were not mere “inconveniences” — as Mayor Bloomberg put it at one point — in the wake of Sunday’s widely, and accurately, predicted snowstorm; in some cases, they were potentially life-threatening foul-ups.
And to such an extent, you’ve just got to wonder if the response could have been better.
Yes, it was one of the worst storms in recent city history, dumping some 20 inches of snow, sometimes as fast as 3 inches an hour.
But let’s face it: The city had plenty of warning.
And yet, agencies — particularly the Department of Sanitation — were unable to meet the challenge.
That left far too many New Yorkers without critical services — from buses and subways to EMS crews.
The heart of the problem: insufficient plowing. Impassable streets meant canceled bus routes, ambulances unable to get through — even stuck fire trucks. Some medical calls went unanswered for hours (though high priorities got speedier attention). That’s just unacceptable.
Similarly, you’d think subways could’ve been running better.
Or that FBI agents would be brave enough to venture out. Instead, they declared a snow day, just as they did amid a snowstorm last year. At least this time, some of the higher-ups reportedly showed — which, we guess, is progress.
Make no mistake: There’s only so much that can be done in a whopper of a storm like this one.
And the city and the MTA did take steps to prepare.
Plows faced a sisyphean task in trying to keep up with the snowfall rate. Likewise, it’s no small feat to keep all of the subway’s 656 miles of track clear.
Plus, the storm produced a few positives: Kids got to play in Central Park, and Mayor Mike’s beloved bike lanes were (at least temporarily) obliterated.
But New Yorkers were left hanging yesterday. Lives were put at risk.
(You can be sure the lawsuits are already being prepared.)
The city needs to do better.