The Council reviews snow readiness Monday, the pre-season hearing Sanitation asked for. What members raised after last winter

The Council's Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management holds an oversight hearing on the city's snow removal and winter storm response on Monday, Nov. 2, at 10 a.m. at 250 Broadway, according to the committee agenda. Chair Justin E. Sanchez leads it (meeting page).

Why it matters to residents: last winter brought two major storms and weeks of freezing temperatures. Residents with disabilities told the Council they were stuck at home behind snowbanks, and the Sanitation commissioner later told the Council the snow budget had been adjusted to reflect what the city actually spent. This hearing comes before the first snowfall, which is what the Sanitation Department asked for.

What's on the agenda

Besides the oversight topic, the committee will hear Int. 1042, from Ty Hankerson, which would require the city to publish and map snow plowing operations data. It has 14 sponsors, including Council Members Frank Morano, Kayla Santosuosso and Selvena N. Brooks-Powers. It was introduced Sept. 10, and Monday is its first hearing.

What our records add

The commissioner asked for this hearing. At the Council's June 4 budget hearing, Sanitation Commissioner Gregory Anderson said he hoped the committee would hold a hearing on snow preparedness "before the season starts rather than after the first snowfall." In the same testimony, he described a "snow equity" policy putting every street on a plow route, so that so-called tertiary streets no longer wait days. He also said the department deployed snow melters, hired haulers through emergency contracts and activated thousands of emergency snow shovelers for crosswalks and bus stops (4:45:41). Sanitation files its snow plans with the Council each year under Local Law 28 of 2011, he said.

Accessibility was the focus in February. The committee's Feb. 27 hearing examined pedestrian and transit access after the storms, including one in January that brought up to 15 inches of snow (3:32). Santosuosso called the emergency shoveler program "a resounding success" and asked how the workers report to the department (2:35:13).

Shovelers waited to be paid. At the June 4 hearing, Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry said her office was still getting complaints from residents who had worked as emergency snow shovelers, and asked about the status of outstanding payments (6:01:53).

Members asked about schools and costs. At a March 16 budget hearing, Council Member Kamillah Hanks asked whether there is a protocol to plow around schools after a major storm; a department official said there are dedicated routes around schools. At the same hearing, a department official said the city's snow budget figure of about $185 million is achievable only in a mild winter (33:45).

A bus shelter pilot is already law. Int. 416, from Sanchez, created a two-year pilot for cleaning and clearing snow and ice from bus shelters, bike share stations and public communications structures. The Council passed it 49-0 on March 10, with one member absent, and it became law April 9 without the mayor's signature.

What's next

Video and a searchable transcript will be posted on the meeting page after the hearing. Int. 1042 would need a committee vote before going to the full Council, which next meets Nov. 12.