Crews clean Long Island roadways following Friday's snowstorm

The first snowfall of the new year blanketed some parts of Long Island with more than 8 inches.

News 12 Staff

Jan 7, 2022, 10:35 PM

Updated 1,065 days ago

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Crews were out cleaning up Long Island after Friday's morning snowstorm left behind snow and slippery road conditions.
The first snowfall of the new year blanketed some parts of Long Island with more than 8 inches.
"I like looking at it, but I definitely don't like shoveling it and cleaning off my car," said Plainview resident Ainsley Folmer. She and her neighbors were out early Friday morning cleaning off their cars and shoveling driveways and sidewalks.
Most of the main roads were plowed by mid-morning, but the side streets took a bit longer.
Snow removal crews in Suffolk and Nassau were plowing the roads as soon as the first flakes started falling overnight.
While some municipalities across the state experienced staffing and supply shortages due to COVID-19 cases, officials told News 12 Long Island that they didn't have those problems while battling the fast-moving storm.
"We have not been impacted by COVID in today's storm, which is a good thing, but it continues to be a concern moving forward with respect to longer term events," said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.
Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino said staffing shortages due to COVID-19 cases were backfilled with personnel from other departments in the town. He said planning was key to avoiding supply chain issues.
"In the fall, we buckled down, we held meetings to determine what we would need, what are the supplies, ensured that we had backups to those supplies. So, we're in very good shape in terms of equipment," Saladino said.
The concern now is icy roads as the temperature falls Friday evening. Officials urged residents to use ice melt outside their homes and drive carefully to avoid accidents and injuries.
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