Foot of snow smacks NYC

NEW YORK – The biggest complaint New Yorkers could muster Wednesday, after a storm dumped a foot or so of snow overnight, was that the scraping of snowplows kept them up all night.

Less than three weeks after the first snowfall of the season – more than 2 feet in places – paralyzed New York for days, streets were clear and Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s reputation was on the mend as the city deftly responded to the latest winter blitz.

“Last time, we could barely get down the street,” said Rosalie Casciorizzo, a resident of south Brooklyn, where many blocks were neglected after the Dec. 26 blizzard. “Now, it’s no problem. They did a much better job.”

City Hall’s snow removal plan, revamped to be what the mayor called “more aggressive and more accountable” than the post-Christmas response, appeared to go a long way toward cleanup of a storm that swatted the South and New York before unleashing the brunt of its force on New England.

An upbeat and happy Bloomberg declared at a morning briefing that every street would see a plow by midday.

“Our goal for this storm was not merely to get back to business as usual,” Bloomberg said. “Our goal was to deploy a more effective snow response operation than ever, more aggressive and more accountable, based on the lessons that we learned in the last storm, and that’s what we’ve done.”

Digging his black Ford Expedition out along 60th Street in Brooklyn, 71-year-old Tom DiGiorgi said the plows scraping the pavement kept him and his wife from getting a good night’s sleep.

“They were going over and over,” he said. “Everyone is complaining, but come on! It’s snow already. Dig out your car, shovel your driveway and sidewalk and get over it. I’m 71 and I’m shoveling.”