Mayor Bloomberg: Shovel Your Snow Or Else!

"Snooooooooooooooooow!"

In case you missed it, we had some real fun with snow this week. Schools were canceled, slush was trudged through, and a new rivalry may have been born. But the fun's over now: it's time to start shoveling or else.

Mayor Bloomberg put out the request for all home and business owners in the city to start shoveling their sidewalks and walkways, or else pay a $100 fine. According to the News, Sanitation Department workers were already spotted handing out some fines in Park Slope and other neighborhoods, even though the Mayor said fines were not in effect yet. (And should you need help figuring out how to use a shovel to move snow, here's a handy instructional guide.)

And you probably can't rely solely on salt to do the work for you, considering salt and melting snow might have caused the massive explosion in the Flatiron District yesterday. But most importantly, the call to shovel should be heeded if only to thwart some super villain from harnessing the power of melting slush.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Ben Yakas in News on February 12, 2010 1:16 PM

Comments [rss]

InWoodside

First to be fined should be the Parks Department! None of the sidewalks around Windmuller/Doughboy Park nor the very steep hill in the park have been touched. And there was an employee just aimlessly wandering around at 2PM today instead of shoveling. And the above comments notwithstanding, I walk everywhere here in Woodside.

TuraLura

Kind of funny considering that city-controlled sidewalks aren't shoveled at all. The stretch of Broadway that goes over the BQE in Williamsburg is a solid ice floe. And why don't developers have to keep siewalks around construction sites clear? Someone's gonna break their neck and get paid! Do something please, Mr. Mayor!

Perhaps the Sanitation Dept could shovel some sidewalks instead of handing out tickets?

Thinky Think

I'm with bloomie on this one 100%

whitecastlerock

Certain home owners in Queens must think it is against their religious belief to shovel. I hope they get ticketed first...

silver

All respectable people drive in Queens. The sidewalks are only for decoration or walking the dog.

PTG in nyc

With the current state of our legal system being that people practically seek out icy sidewalks so they can fall, get injured, and sue for boatloads of money, you'd think that would be reason enough for property owners to shovel.

nicemarmot

No, they apparently think dumping ten bags of salt on their sidewalk before it snows absolves them of all responsibility.

silver

And then they wonder why after all the fertilizer and weed killer and sprinkler watering their grass is breathing its last breaths.

MT

Can they PLEASE start ticketing on SI? It's such a mess in the outer boroughs and these lazy jerks aren't helping matters. I would have no problem whatsoever with a failure-to-shovel ticketing blitz after every snowstorm.