New York City is beginning its return to routine Tuesday morning after a historic blizzard, with public schools reopening, commuters heading back to work and transit agencies working to restore service across the region.
National Weather Service officials said most neighborhoods saw between 16 and 19 inches of snow, with totals topping 24 inches in parts of Staten Island. Plows and sanitation crews worked overnight to clear residential streets, crosswalks and bus stops ahead of the morning commute.
Officials warned of possible refreezing overnight and urged commuters to use caution Tuesday morning. They said black ice was a concern through 10 a.m. Tuesday, especially on untreated surfaces, and lingering gusts could blow snow around and reduce visibility.
Utility crews were also working to restore remaining power outages across the region.
In New Jersey, PSE&G said it had restored roughly 54,000 customers since Sunday morning and reported only about 50 outages remaining as of early Tuesday. JCP&L said about 14,000 customers were still without power and estimated some along the Jersey Shore may not see service fully restored until midweek. More than 20,000 Atlantic City Electric customers were dealing with power loss across South Jersey.
In New York, Con Edison reported some 1,500 customers without power in the five boroughs and Westchester County on Tuesday morning. PSEG Long Island said fewer than 900 of its customers were facing outages.
Warmer temperatures forecast later this week were expected to help melt much of the snow.
But not everyone was happy about a return to normalcy so soon.
Some elected officials think it’s too soon for schools to reopen
Several elected officials criticized Mayor Zohran Mamdani after he announced public schools would be open for in-person instruction on Tuesday.
More than 170,000 people had signed an online petition by Tuesday morning calling on the mayor to reverse the decision and move classes online.
Queens Councilmember Vickie Paladino called the decision “hasty and misguided.”
“Many outer borough neighborhoods have been disparately impacted by this storm and given the sheer volume of snow, need much more time and resources to make roads safe and passable,” she said in a statement on X on Monday. “It is going to be impossible for many students to reach school and for parents to get to work by tomorrow morning, and as a result, there will be mass absenteeism.”
State Assemblymember Michael Novakhov from Brooklyn said his district still had blocked crosswalks, difficult-to-navigate roads and sidewalks blanketed by snow.
“This is a reckless decision. Parents should not be forced to send their children out into unsafe conditions because City Hall wants to pretend everything is fine,” he said.
David Carr, who represents parts of Staten Island in the City Council, urged the Department of Education to reconsider.
“Our schools should not be open tomorrow,” he wrote. “They should be closed or at least remote given the reality on the ground.”
Mamdani, however, told WNYC that the return to in-person instruction is the right move.
“ We’re now seeing the conditions start to moderate and these next few hours and overnight, that is the time for our sanitation department to continue to do the incredible work that they’re doing,” he said on “All Things Considered” Monday night, noting that more than 1,000 emergency snow shovelers were clearing crosswalks, bus stops and fire hydrants and that thousands of education department workers were preparing school buildings.
Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said city staff were clearing snow and ice off pathways to ensure schools are safe for Tuesday.
“Remote learning remains an important tool and can be effective as we saw with last month’s storm, however despite our best efforts to distribute devices throughout the weekend, we couldn’t be 100% certain that every student had access to the devices they need for remote learning,” he said on social media.
A spokesperson for the education department says there is a two-hour grace period Tuesday for students who can’t get in on time for the start of the school day.
Transit agencies work to restore service
The winter storm disrupted transit across the region, including by spurring travel bans in the city and suburbs that barred nonessential vehicles until Monday afternoon.
There were also hundreds of flight cancellations at area airports. As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, more than 1,300 flights into and out of LaGuardia, JFK and Newark airports were canceled, with dozens of other flights delayed.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said service on the C train was suspended early Tuesday due to the impact of the winter storm. The MTA recommended taking the A train in Manhattan and Brooklyn as an alternative.
Long Island Rail Road service resumed at 4 a.m. Tuesday on the Ronkonkoma, Huntington, Babylon, Oyster Bay, Montauk and Port Washington branches on modified schedules, according to transit officials.
The LIRR said service on other branches would return on a rolling basis as conditions allow. The MTA encouraged riders to check its website or app for the latest service information.
Metro-North Railroad is operating on an enhanced Saturday schedule on the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines, providing roughly two-thirds of regular weekday service, officials said.
Some express subway service is running on local tracks for the morning rush and shuttle trains are operating between Euclid Avenue and the Rockaways, the MTA said. Efforts to restore Staten Island Railway service were also underway.
The Staten Island Ferry was scheduled to resume regular weekday service at 5 a.m. Tuesday, after operating on a modified schedule on Monday evening, officials said.
The New York City Ferry said it was also operating with staggered start times by route.
City buses are running on a winter weather schedule, with detours and slower travel times expected as road clearing continues, officials said.
In New Jersey, NJ Transit said all three light rail lines, bus service and Access Link service were operating on a regular weekday schedule on Tuesday. Commuter rail service resumed on a holiday schedule with several modifications, officials said.
The Pascack Valley, Main-Bergen, Port Jervis, Northeast Corridor, Raritan Valley and North Jersey Coast lines were operating on a regular holiday schedule and the Atlantic City Rail Line was running on a regular weekday schedule, NJ Transit said.
Midtown Direct service on the Morris & Essex and Montclair-Boonton lines were going to Hoboken instead of New York Penn Station due to the transition away from the Portal Bridge, officials said.
New Jersey transportation officials lifted emergency 35-mph speed limits and commercial vehicle restrictions Monday evening, though drivers were urged to use caution.
Officials encouraged riders to check agency websites and apps for real-time updates before traveling.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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