With snow piled high around them and shovels scraping against dense drifts, Anthony and Olivia Gigliotti worked steadily on Monday morning to clear their family’s driveway — one of many similar scenes unfolding across Glen Cove as a blizzard blanketed Long Island with more than 2 feet of snow.
The siblings were mid-dig when the Herald spoke with them, carving a narrow path from their front door to the street as plowed snow formed a heavy ridge at the curb.
“We went to the supermarket and loaded up on a bunch of groceries,” Anthony Gigliotti, 21, said, pausing to lean on his shovel. “We bought ice melt for when it gets icy after we shovel, and we just kind of stayed inside. I was very surprised and shocked. I did not think it would be as bad as it was.”
For Olivia Gigliotti, 19, the frustration was compounded by lingering accumulation from the major storm earlier this month.
“The previous snow didn’t even melt, so that’s kind of disappointing,” she said. “That’s just piling on and piling on.”
City schools were closed on Monday and Tuesday as the Department of Public Works labored to clear main roads and residential blocks. While Glen Cove received roughly 18 inches, some totals farther south and east exceeded 2 feet. According to the National Weather Service, there were accumulations of 23.7 inches in East Meadow, 24 inches in Lynbrook, 29.1 inches in Islip and 29.5 in Babylon.
For part of its duration, the storm met the technical definition of a blizzard — sustained winds or frequent gusts over 35 mph for at least three hours, with falling or blowing snow reducing visibility to less than a quarter mile. Gusts reached 45 to 55 mph in some areas, creating whiteout conditions and significant drifting.
Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck said that DPW crews were deployed before the storm began, pretreating roads and staging equipment.
“When we get a snowstorm, the men are out ahead of time preparing,” Panzenbeck said. “They’re putting product down to help the snow to melt. It isn’t just for the point of the storm that people see the trucks — they’re out before the storm as well.”
The city ordered roughly 3,000 tons of salt for the season, and continues to replenish its supply, she said. Repeated weekend storms have also increased overtime costs.
“The unbelievable thing is this has all been on the weekends — Saturdays and Sundays,” Panzenbeck said. “So it’s overtime. That’s wear and tear on our budget as well.”
She said the city would likely make budget transfers once final overtime figures are calculated.
Councilman John Perrone acknowledged that two major snowfalls in close succession can strain municipal planning. “A budget is only an estimate of what you think anticipated costs are going to be,” he said. “Is it going to affect the budget? Possibly. If there’s an unexpended surplus someplace else, that can offset it.”
At Tuesday night’s council meeting, resident Harris Pepper thanked the city for clearing main roads, but added a pointed critique of conditions on side streets, particularly his cul-de-sac on Midwood Place.
“Our main roads were totally clear and safe when I left for work this morning at 5:30 a.m.,” Pepper said. “My issue tonight involves the side roads of Glen Cove.”
A plow, he said, came down Midwood Place — “right down the middle of the road” — on Sunday and again around 3 a.m on Monday, but never returned to clear closer to the curb.
“Every house on the street had their vehicles off the street,” Pepper said, noting that one car was parked legally on the odd side as directed by the city. “Not one resident shoveled snow into the street. No plow ever returned to Midwood Place to get closer to the curb or to clean up again.”
He added that neither plowing nor salting was completed on the southern portion of the cul-de-sac as of 5:30 p.m. Monday.
“At the entrance to the block, two medium-sized pickup trucks became stuck and had to be shoveled out,” Pepper said. “I am certain that this happened on numerous side streets.”
He emphasized that he wasn’t criticizing DPW workers themselves. “I know the personnel at DPW are great personnel,” he said. “But they must be stretched to the limits in order to miss such large amounts of snow.”
He also tied the issue to broader infrastructure concerns discussed at previous meetings, referring to proposed housing near the Glen Street LIRR station and other development projects.
“We’re talking about upgrading infrastructure and bringing people to live here,” Pepper said. “But our schools, our roadways and infrastructure systems that are in place are not ready for a dramatic increase in population of any size. It is time for the city to do more, and to do right by its present constituents.”
