Snowy park complaints pile up after blizzard

Hundreds of complaints were filed to 311 during this week’s blizzard for unplowed snow in or near city parks, with Brooklyn parks leading the list.

New Yorkers flocked to the city’s parks to sled and build snowmen – but resources were also stretched when it came to clearing everything up.

Between Feb. 22, the day before the blizzard, and Feb. 26, around 18,081 complaints were filed related to snow removal, according to 311 data analyzed by THE CITY.

Of those complaints, 172 were reported to the Department of Parks and Recreation. Those were listed in the 311 data as snow issues in or along park sidewalks, playgrounds, basketball courts and fields.

Greenwood Playground in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, and Newtown Playground near Elmhurst in Queens had the most complaints, while Union Square Park, Tecumseh Playground in the Upper West Side, and Oakland Gardens Playground in Bayside also had multiple complaints.

As of Feb. 27, 31 of the complaints have been closed while 141 are still being resolved.

Staten Island was the hardest-hit borough in terms of snowfall, with Grasmere recording 29 inches and Todt Hill getting 27.8 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

A spokesperson for the Parks Department said they’re moving to clear sidewalks and paths after being walloped by two big storms.

There were between 1,700 and 2,000 staffers working on snow removal throughout 12-hour shifts that began at 6 a.m. Monday and Tuesday, the spokesperson said.

They worked with 36 plows and more than 200 vehicles with some plow capacity.

Since Jan. 29, there have been about ​​32,146 overall snow-related complaints to 311 as the city saw its most significant snowfall in a decade.

The wet, heavy snow also damaged the city’s trees.

Commissioner Tricia Shimamura said that 223 trees fell due to the most recent snowstorm, including 47 that blocked streets. There were more than 1,800 tree-related service requests, and workers made more than 1,200 inspections.

Councilmember Gale Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side of Manhattan, said playgrounds around her district have been a mess since last month’s storm, which was followed by frigid single-digit temperatures.

She sent a letter to Shimamura to complain about unplowed playgrounds and basketball courts.

“Constituents reported narrow, barely cleared pathways adjacent to Sapolin Playground as well – contrasted with the mostly dry and widely cleared entrances to those school buildings by Department of Education custodial staff,” she wrote in the letter.

She asked how these jointly-operated playgrounds were taken care of during extreme weather.

Parks Department officials spoke to Brewer and Community Board 7 on Wednesday and said their staffing is stretched thin – with 16 workers to clear 24 properties, but also pulled into clearing bus stops and other areas.

The area’s only truck used to remove snow was also dispatched to plow at other sites.

While Mamdani campaigned on a promise to commit at least 1% of the city’s budget to the Parks Department, the preliminary budget he submitted this month fell short of that.