The Problem With New York City

Here's a shot of the WABC 7 newscast this morning. The newscasters were on the phone with a woman who had been stuck on a city bus for hours and hours — there have been problems plowing the streets this morning. Meanwhile, WABC shows a shot of Times Square, its Pedestrian Mall clear of snow. That blacktop on the left — the former Broadway — is the cleared pedestrian mall:

Meanwhile, our street, Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City, was only plowed at 11 a.m. All morning cars were stuck in the snow, including emergency vehicles. This was about an hour after that live WABC 7 shot:

Now I suspect that the Times Square Alliance — the Business Improvement District there — worked hard to plow out the pedestrian mall and that it wasn't a matter of the City prioritizing tourism — at least I hope that's the case — but even if that's the case, there's a problem here with the City ceding responsibility in ways large and small. If you turn on the television and see Times Square plowed you'd have no idea that there are entire neighborhoods that haven't yet seen a plow.

I don't know why the City didn't start plowing earlier — it will be interesting to hear.

See also: December 2010 Blizzard.