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While the City has vowed to plow smaller streets after the main roads have been cleared, some residents were not willing to wait.
“We need groceries,” Carla Carpenter, of the 2600 block of Juniper Street, said Monday. “I’m handicapped. I can’t carry my bags up the street.”
A City plow made its way up Juniper at about midnight Saturday after the first 2 inches of snow fell, but, as of Monday, had not reappeared, she said.
“It’s a waste of our money — our taxpayers’ money,” Carpenter said.
But Philadelphia hasn’t seen a winter of this magnitude since 1995-96 when a total of 65.5 inches of the white stuff covered the sidewalks and streets. This past weekend’s accumulation was 28.5 inches, according to the City. About 23.2 inches accumulated during the Dec. 19 and 20 snowstorm that cost the city about $3.5 million, according to Mayor Michael Nutter’s spokeswoman Maura Kennedy. Costs for the recent storm were not all available at press time.
At press time, residents were gearing up for another monster blast, which the National Weather Service was predicting would dump another 10 to 18 inches on the area. The final measurement for that storm was 15.8 inches bringing this winter’s total to 72.1 inches — 6.6 inches more than the previous record.
A winter storm warning went into effect 7 p.m. Tuesday through midnight Wednesday by the National Weather Service while the city declared a snow emergency that started 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Trash pickup was canceled yesterday and this week’s schedule had not been determined as of press time.
“We are asking residents to be patient as we continue to fight against the last storm,” Streets Commissioner Clarena Tolson said in a statement Tuesday.
More than 480 vehicles were expected to treat the snowfall with 18,000 tons of salt available to the more than 600 City workers.
Nutter and the City are managing the situation as best they can.
“This is a northeastern city,” Nutter said during his Saturday press conference in the midst of storm No. 2. “It snows. It snows all the time and we can’t predict what’s going to happen. The cost issue does not enter into the equation in terms of these kinds of events.
Our primary focus is on making sure that our citizens are safe, our streets are passable and we do what we need to do.”
The City declared a snow emergency 8 p.m. last Friday until noon on Sunday, while Gov. Ed Rendell announced Saturday a statewide disaster emergency, which allowed all necessary resources to be used to cope with the snowstorm.
Residents like Carpenter, who reside on narrow streets in that plows have trouble getting down, sometimes work as a team to dig out of the waist-deep snow.
After seeing how bad her street was, Carpenter searched for a company to clean the block. She called Mark Leuzzi and Sons, 2418 S. 18th St., who cleared the block for $250 on Monday.
“Let’s get things in our own hands,” Carpenter said. “And that’s what we did. By the time [the City plows] come, the snow would be up to the roof.”
Each neighbor chipped in what they could, which was about $15 to $20, and some had a shovel on hand to steer the snow away from the sidewalks.
Anna Marie Scarpato, of the 2400 block of Bouvier Street, sprinkled a little more salt on her neighbor’s porch Monday, but her sidewalk and steps were already cleared.
“The young neighbors do all the old people’s [sidewalks],” she said. “It’s a wonderful little block.”
While others took care of the front of her home, she dug out her backyard for her dog, Spice.
Spice’s walker, Jake Panasevich, of the 2400 block of South Lambert Street, said parts of South Philly, including Girard Estates, are harder to get around.
“This is the worst neighborhood in the whole city,” he said after returning his four-legged friend home. “There’s nowhere to put the snow. Once you hit north of Passyunk, it’s better, It’s more maintained.”
In these snowy times, people tend to head to the local corner or grocery store for essential survival items.
“My freezer and refrigerator were filled since last Thursday,” Scarpato said.
And local places are enjoying the extra business.
“It’s great,” Big Nick’s Cold Cuts owner, Nick Maiale said. “I wish it would snow every day. No complaints.”
This past week, he had more delivery requests than usual, especially from elderly residents who were limited by the weather.
With canned soups, milk and bread flying off the shelves, along with cold cuts, which the store at 1311 W. Moyamensing Ave. sold out of earlier this week, Maiale was forced to close for business Wednesday even though he ordered so he could restock.
“Like crazy,” he said of ordering this past week. “You can’t get deliveries.”
For those staying in, takeout seemed like a viable option, especially for Key Pizza customers, owner Stephanos, who declined to give his last name, said.
“We were tremendously busy,” he said. “We had a lot of take-in, a lot of takeout. It was an ordeal, but we did it.”
Stephanos, who resides outside the city, stayed at the Holiday Inn, 900 Packer Ave., and walked to his establishment at 1846 S. 12th St. Saturday and Tuesday nights. He even helped dig out the four on-duty drivers’ cars. Though road conditions lengthened delivery time from an average of 30 minutes to about an hour, customers were patient, he said.
“My customers know that I’m opened on a snowstorm. I never miss a day,” he said.
But as residents were bracing for another go-round, they can look back on the first two storms as trial runs.
Jose M., of 11th Street and Snyder Avenue, monitored the situation.
“I did it right away,” he said of last weekend’s dig out. “I did it in installments.”
Jose dug out his vehicle, but decided not to move it.
“I didn’t use my car because I didn’t want to lose my spot,” he said, adding the space in front of his home already had a neighbor’s chair in it.
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