Mayor Bloomberg to handle all 6 inches of snow (come on, in MN that's a dusting)

Mayor Bloomberg: “My grade for the city was ‘unsatisfactory’

and we’re going to do better next time.”

By Brian K. Sullivan

Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Half a foot (15 centimeters) of snow may fall over the New York region starting today, the second winter storm in two weeks in an area recovering from a post- Christmas blizzard.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, under fire after the Dec. 26-27 storm left some city streets unplowed for a week, pledged an improved response. Crews will be employing video cameras and GPS systems to pinpoint areas of need, the mayor said at a news conference yesterday.

“My grade for the city was ‘unsatisfactory’ and we’re going to do better next time,” Bloomberg said.

The heaviest snowfall is likely in the late afternoon when many people are leaving work, said David Stark, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Upton, New York.

“It should be over early in the evening, especially for the city,” Stark said. “It is really a quick-hitting event.”

Winter storm warnings, watches and advisories stretch from eastern Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, through New York City and most of Connecticut into Massachusetts and Vermont.

Last week’s storm left 20 inches (51 centimeters) of snow in Central Park, with higher amounts elsewhere across the Northeast. Cleanup costs totaled at least $20 million of New York’s $38.8 million snow-removal budget, according to the Sanitation Department. About 1,100 garbage trucks were used to collect 50,000 tons of piled-up trash. The remainder of 6"