Acknowledging he didn’t expect two snow storms in the first month in office, Mayor Bill de Blasio praised Wednesday morning his government agencies overnight effort to plow the streets in all of the 5 Boroughs.

At a press conference at EMS Station 32 in Brooklyn, the mayor said the EMS and FDNY first responders did “a hell of a job protecting people, even though conditions were tough.”

The mayor also faced tough questions from reporters over late night charges that he had abandoned Upper East Side residents and treated differently by failing to clear streets ahead of rush hour time and following evening hours.

“They are mistaken. No one was treated differently. We believe in a five-borough approach in everything we do,” Mr. De Blasio said. “I think people need to be mindful when they hurl those charges. It’s not so respectful of the men and women who work so hard at the department of Sanitation. They were out there in force in every neighborhood and every neighborhood is being services devotedly by the men and women in the sanitation department.”

Commissioner Doherty doubled down in his way of straight talk. “It is what it is. Everyone can believe what they want. But we built a system where we allow the public to see what we are doing right now,” Mr. Doherty said. “We have to look beyond that.”

The commissioner explained that there were numerous little pockets in manhattan that for various reasons were not operating as expected.

But the overall response, the mayor maintained, was fast, forceful and helpful for the entire city, clearing 100 percent of Main Street and 99% of secondary streets overnight.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)