For New Yorkers, the aftermath of the January 25 snowstorm has turned the city into a landscape of immobile vehicles buried under hardened piles of snow and ice. With alternate side parking regulations suspended for three weeks, many cars have not moved since being entombed by the near-foot of snow that hit the city, as reported by Gothamist. The hiatus was intended to allow sanitation crews to better focus on snow removal, but it has also highlighted the issue of excessive city vehicles left unused for extended periods.
Sam Schwartz, former city traffic commissioner and transportation analyst, suggested this could be an opportunity for Mayor Zohran Mamdani to assess the necessity of the official vehicle fleet. He quipped, "obviously they're getting around some other way," indicating that some vehicles haven't been needed even with the suspension of parking regulations. Meanwhile, advocacy groups like Transportation Alternatives have called attention to the use of curb space for long-term parking. They argue against the practice of allowing untouched cars to block valuable land, as Gothamist quotes spokesperson Alexa Sledge saying, "The snow, ice, trash and debris that surrounds these vehicles are unsightly at best and dangerous at worst."
On a more grassroots level, enterprising individuals have taken it upon themselves to start a snow removal side hustle, as covered by NBC New York. Keith Roberts, a Bronx truck driver, has begun to offer his snow removal services to neighbors in need, a venture he started with a few shovels from his storage unit. Transforming frustration into potential profit, he's been digging out fellow residents' cars for around $90 a piece, depending on the depth of the snow entrapment.
Roberts mentioned, much to likely the surprise of no one, that as the snow becomes more firmly compacted into ice, the effort to liberate the frozen vehicles intensifies, causing the prices for the services to increase. "Anyone who calls me today is probably gonna have to pay a higher price," he said, chuckling about the situation. His entrepreneurship reflects a city adapting to the challenges presented by the severe weather, where the demand for snow removal has generated unexpected business for movers like Murray, who incidentally runs a company out of Manhattan and has shifted focus to snow removal during the offseason, as reported by NBC New York.
