The city is making sure it’s prepared for whatever accumulation the city gets today. Only about one to three inches are expected across the five boroughs. But the city is using the opportunity to try to right the wrongs of the last storm response.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has instituted a number of personnel and technological changes aimed at preventing some of the issues that plagued the city’s snow response the last time.

Some snow plows in Brooklyn will be monitored by GPS systems to improve communication between drivers and dispatchers.
Scout teams will be patrolling the streets looking for problems –streaming live video back to City Hall.

Sanitation workers will also undergo more snow removal retraining.

In terms of personnel shakeups, two sanitation chiefs have been replaced in Brooklyn, along with demotion of the head of EMS.

“The actions I have announced this afternoon are only initial improvements we are putting in place for tomorrow’s storm,” said the mayor at a news conference yesterday outlining the changes. “It’s certainly not the last word on the subject.”

The December storm’s damage to Bloomberg’s reputation is apparent in a new poll.

The NY1/Marist Poll released yesterday puts the mayor’s approval rating at just 37 percent – an all-time low.

Sixty percent say they disapprove of the job he’s doing. That’s a drop of 23 points since October.

Only 21 percent approve of how the mayor handled the blizzard, and 28 percent believe he learned nothing from it.

“It’s not an abstract by any means – this is a real problem and people felt that there wasn’t the kind of hands on leadership that they expected from Mayor Bloomberg,” said Lee Miringoff of the Marist poll. “So therein lies the rub; the numbers were bad.”

A spokesman says, “The Mayor keeps saying that the City’s snow response was unacceptable and that he’s accountable – it’s no surprise that a majority of New Yorkers agree.”

The poll surveyed 600 adults on Wednesday night. It has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority also got a head start on snow preparations after getting socked by the blizzard.

The agency has already implemented its highest level of storm preparation for the bus and subway system.

During the blizzard, the MTA did not raise its snow alert level until the snow had already started to fall.

A situation-room command center is being set up, workers are being held over on their shifts, and others will work extended 12-hour shifts.

Diesel trains that spray de-icer on third rails are being deployed. And all weekend construction and maintenance projects are cancelled.

The airports are open — but airlines are already gearing up for possible flight delays and cancellations.

After the huge storm snarled air travel all last week, airlines including Continental, United, US Airways, JetBlue and American have all waived rebooking fees for passengers flying into or out of New York this weekend.

Fees will also be waived for passengers flying into or out of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The City Council is holding a hearing Monday on the city’s blizzard response.

And the City Council is holding public hearings on the snow removal response in each of the five boroughs.

Public Hearings On Snow Response
Besides the City Council hearing on Monday, the council has scheduled these public hearings about the blizzard response in each borough:

Staten Island
Tuesday, January 18
7:30 p.m.
The Michael J. Petrides School
715 Ocean Terrace

Brooklyn
Wednesday, January 19
6 p.m.
Brooklyn Borough Hall
209 Joralemon Street

Manhattan
Thursday, January, 20
6 p.m.
Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building
163 West 125th Street, Room 8ABC

Queens
Friday, January 21
12 p.m.
Queens Borough Hall
120-55 Queens Boulevard
Kew Gardens

Bronx
Monday, January 24
6 p.m.
Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College, CUNY
Savoy Building D
120 East 149th Street
(between Walton and Gerard Avenues, west of Grand Concourse)

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(Source: NY1)