>> this is eyewitness news at 5:00. you've been watching continuing coverage of the blizzard that has virtually shut down new york city. we are looking live now at a whole lot of snow. just about everywhere you look out the window these days you are going to see a lot of snow. in fact, a white out as joe pointed out. right now there's a travel ban in effect. now that includes all local and state roads in new on long island. bridges and tunnels closed this afternoon around 2:30 and they will remain closed until further notice. >> what a saturday it has been. an hour ago long island and metro north shut down along with subways, the out door lines, the number 7. the mta said it will try to keep running underground subways as long as possible. >> new jersey transit, rail, bus, light rail service all of that has been suspended. service will be restored as the

best thing to do is what we all kind of what -- wish we were able to do, stay inside. >> let's get over to lee goldberg. a week of waiting for this storm and it has more than delivered. the heaviest snow will be over with soon and then we'll just have lighter snow until midnight to 2:00 a.m. this should be one of the signature shots of blizzard 2016. that's about 30 inches. pictures of huge snow piles in staten island 1 to 2 feet along the island. heavy snow will continue right now. they are going to be wayning. through 7:00 we'll see this and then we'll see diminished snow intensities that wind down between midnight and 2:00 a.m. up to 30 inches in new jersey. meteorologist jeff

him in a moment. they are getting hit with big winds. heavy snow and wind gusting over 30 miles per hour we have blizzard conditions all day. 1 to 2 feet covering a huge part of the area, mixing in new jersey. they are getting hit hour after hour. big time difference north of i-85, 6 to 12 inches and even 3 to 6 to a dusting in the hudson valley. we haven't got an official update from central park. i think we're pushing 20 inches in new york city. we're about to approach the blizzard of 1996 and i think we'll end up in the top three of new york city snowstorms. new jersey just updated their amounts, 21.5 in blarestown.

difference we've seen, starting to see a break. jeff smith is going to explain this tool we've been using all day long. meteorologist jeff smith is outside in the elements on the west side. jeff. >> reporter: lee, i have to say that nate johnson had a really good idea the ski googles. those are probably the worse winter weather conditions. this is columbus avenue. we are getting a wind coming in from the north right down the throat of columbus avenue. this is causing massive blowing and drifting of the snow. check out the drifts over here. i mean, we're talking 2 to 3 foot drifts up against our eyewitness news vehicle here. the snow is heavy. no trouble accumulating on the roads and sidewalks. that blowing and drifting will continue after the snow winds down later on tonight. let's

right now it's over some of the most populated areas of the entire country. basically the pink areas you have snowfall rates of at least an inch an hour, you head into those darker pink hours and the snowfall rates are about 2 inches or so per hour with blizzard conditions. that extends from new york city down the i-78 corridor, down towards parts of somerset county. another batch where you're getting 2 inches per hour is over parts of long island. what you'll notice though is as the band is pivoting a little bit it's starting to weaken at the same time. this general trend will continue. don't let your guard down. we still have 1 to 2 inch snowfall rates through about 7:00 p.m. before the dryer air comes in. you see the bands that were strong up over northern suburbs have began to weaken during the past hour or so.

absolutely have blizzard conditions out there. i think lee there's going to be no trouble reaching that top five list considering we had 15 inches as of 1:00 p.m. a big, big gust just came in. this used to compare when today work in syracuse and the lake effect snow. >> yeah. this hasn't been like the wet heaviest wettest snow. the water content has been there and that's why we've had your standard snowfall. boy, it's been packing up. so we look at the low pressure starting to make its move out to sea. what a big hole out here just near new york right here. that's going to start to trend west ward. we will see a big time diminishing intensity. the wind will be cranking. look what happens now through about 8:00 and then after that as things pivot to the east.

snow flakes between midnight and 2:00 a.m. blizzard conditions this even, snow winding down between midnight and 2:00 a.m. your complete 7-day accuweather forecast that will be the calm after the storm. at least if you're thinking about a baseball game we're going into the 7th, 8th inning of this. back to you. >> i think a lot of people are thinking about football on sunday. >> exactly. we have reporters all a cross the area. some of the places getting hit the hardest in more ways than one are along the coast. eyewitness news reporter stacey sager is in long beach, long island. >> reporter: i'm thinking of the caribbean right now. >> that's good thoughts. >> reporter: we're start ing to see the accumulation here. you can see the drifts that we saw. this reminds me of the end of

all that snow and these huge snow drifts that stayed in place forever an people couldn't park their cars and we didn't know how to get rid of this stuff. it's going to be a while before this goes away. we're here on west park avenue, the main drag. we were down on the north shore earlier. the bay side of long beach the tide was coming up. high tide here is at 7:00 tonight. there was a concern for flooding. most people are just hanging out inside, not going out much. it's been kind of -- you know, people trying to say safe. here in long beach they have 45 pieces of equipment out on the roadways, they have plows. we've seen tons of plows coming by, salt trucks, sand truck, the works trying to keep things clean. we will be keeping you updated as the night goes on. i'm staceying sag erer, ing -- i'm stacey sager, endchannel 7,

let's go to kimberly richardson in yonkers. >> reporter: hi. take a look. this is why i stay off the roads. there's no travel bands but there's no reason to be out here. these folks are trying to get up this hill. they have already had to be pushed out several times. you can see that front car. they know the people in the car. you have this one here and behind you here we have another suv. everybody is taking it slow. you know, yonkers has hills and they are everywhere. with the snow and the ice we haven't seen a city plow come through here. this is like a thick slushy cookie dough nasty kind of mixture. i think up the street here is a grocery store. a lot of folks have been walking down here. this isn't

seeing folks with bags of groceries heading home. for the most part we have -- i think that must be as the rule is by law they have to clear -- that's actually an apartment building. that must be someone -- i'm going to go check it out. this must be someone clearing the front of their building because they have to. hello. >> hello. >> reporter: hi . i'm okay. how are you? >> i'm good. >> reporter: are you the owner of the building, landlord? >> no. i'm just the owner of the lot. >> reporter: you're the super. so you have to do this by law? >> of course i have to do it. >> reporter: it's thick enough know, it's deep enough that you got to do it. >> yeah, it's been a third time i'm doing it. >> reporter: third time today? >> yeah, since 6:00 a.m. >> reporter: what do you think of all this snow? >> we have to do it. what are we going to do ? it's god's decision. you got to get paid, that's the important thing. >> reporter: it's out of our hands. i'll let you head back

i'll probably see you again because the way it's coming down now you're going to make another run. >> yeah, of course. >> reporter: you seem to be the only one out here. >> i'm trying to do any job -- my job. i've been working 20 years with the company. >> reporter: i'm going to tell your boss you deserve a raise. >> i hope so if he sees me on tv. >> reporter: we have the nicest people here in yonkers. everybody is in good spirits. the hills here in yonkers is just a way you guys now how to deal with it. they're stuck again. mikey is going to show you. they're still stuck. if you don't have to be on the roads out here don't. if you don't have to walk don't. those guys there were just helping the folks pushing that car. let me go get them. hold on one second. hello. >> so you're just saying hello to everybody, kimberly. >> reporter: why not? if you

>> i know you're a big salt cycle fan. what's harder, running in snow or cycle? >> reporter: cycle by far. did you know the guys in the car? >> no. >> reporter: they're the one s that got stuck a couple times. >> that's crazy. it's nasty out here. >> reporter: what made you stop and go help them? >> i didn't help nobody. >> reporter: you were push ing that car weren't you? >> no. >> reporter: oh, it was you. wait a minute now. so you were helping them. you don't know them. what made you do it? >> just kindness of my heart. >> reporter: kindness in your heart. you're a good guy. >> yeah. >> reporter: take care and get home. >> you too. >> reporter: that's it here in yonkers. let me see if those guys got it. they're still stuck. look at them. stay off the roads. >> get the yankees fan to help them out. >> reporter: yeah, right. he's probably a mets fan, the guy that i thought was helping. i'm

ugly tweets. >> you're a storm trooper, girl. way to go. fantastic job today. >> reporter: thank you . >> you know we'll be back to you in a few minutes. >> you know there's no travel ban and in westchester county we see more people in their cars >> probably a good youeded -- idea to stay off the roads. dave evans was in coney island earlier and we saw you interviewing mayor de blasio. has conditions changed where you are, dave? >> reporter: well, the snow is a little deeper. i wanted to point out something that we're going to see a lot of in the next couple of days, this big pile of snow. this is part of what sanitation calls pile and hall. they only do that when we get above 12 inches. they pile

will come in and melt the snow. i want roger to be careful here because of the traffic. you can see some people are ignoring the travel band that took effect at 2:30 this afternoon. the mayor is very, very concerned about that. he said he's concerned for a couple of reasons. he wants this ban in effect because number one so that emergency vehicles can get through, ambulances and police vehicles and so the plowing option can continue. we asked how serious police will be about this. we talked with him earlier this afternoon. this is what the mayor had to say. >> is there some wiggle room? >> no. let's be sure. people need to get home right this minute. they should have heard it by now. everyone has -- not everyone but the vast majority of people have technology, have the radio on, have their e-mail and smart phone or whatever it is. we've been we gave you 2 hours notice . get off the streets now.

driving on the streets right now? >> for me it's fun. >> reporter: you know a ban on all travel went into effect at 2:30? >> did it? we're just taking some photographs. >> reporter: again, the travel ban taking effect at 2:30. there's already some folks who are ignoring that ban and the police and mayor will be effective in enforcing this. i want to take you back to january 25th, january 26th of 2015. that's the last time that we saw a travel ban. jimmy o'neil said they had no arrests at that time. they stopped a lot of people, warned a lot of people. so far no arrests or anything like that to report to you on this travel ban. we hope that people will heed the mayor's warning. for now dave evan, end channel 7, eyewitness news.

anyone -- anyone, they want to keep everyone safe. if you don't have to be out there don't. if you have to take pictures take them from your backyard. >> much safer and you don't face a possible fine. thank you, dave. let's move now to lucy yang. she was in staten island earlier and moved over now to prospect heights, brooklyn. hello. >> reporter: hi. i'm on flat avenue and 8th avenue. in the course of just a few minutes we saw not one but two emergency vehicles stuck in the snow. you know what's more amazing? we saw people coming to the rescue. we had a police car that was stuck. all these good samaritans came out to lend a strong arm. we

you were out here digging almost an hour to get that ambulance free. >> i think about 45 minutes. >> reporter: why did you come out to help? >> i was shovelling the walk and i saw it was down to block and i was worried about the neighbor down there so when i saw it stuck i thought i should do what i could to get it out. it took a while. the sand truck came by and did some plowing for us. >> reporter: it got stuck in the back? >> yes. >> reporter: thank you. >> trying to make a turn and just started sliding down the hill and buried itself in the bank. >> reporter: thank you so much for helping. this is why there's this travel ban. even emergency vehicles are getting stuck in the snow out here. it's not easy traveling. there are these snow banks that are trapping vehicles at intersections. there are so many good samaritans out here ready and willing to help

live in brooklyn, lucy yang, channel 7, eyewitness news. >> lucy, thank you. that is a good point to make, we all stuck in the snow together. let's take a look at road cam 7 not far away from where here's the clear indication why they want you to stay off the roads, so the plows can get out there and do their jobs unobstructed and clean as quickly as possible. >> we have to make the point though that sanitation crews both here in the city and elsewhere around the area have been doing a great job keeping up with, you know, what we are already saying is going to be a mon if she were storm. so some places you see the black top but because it's coming down so quick and steadily that disappears fairly fast. they've been doing really a great job of keeping the roads as clear as possible.

will be visiting with sanitation workers later today thanking them personally for all the work they've done. we've talked to them and they love it when the roads are clear because they can get out there and do their job as quickly as possible and not have to worry about other drivers. it allows them to do their job better. >> it gets us all back on the roads faster. let's check in with nina. >> reporter: you know, it just has not abandoned at all all day long. it's wet miserable snow. i do have someone that came up to me. >> hello, sandra. say hi. everybody is okay ? >> reporter: this is sandra bookman friend's miguel. you've been out here delivering all day. >> yeah, we've been working you will day. somebody has to do to

>> reporter: what are you delivering? >> pizza. >> reporter: on foot or bicycle? >> we started doing it by foot. that's good that's the subway is not closed because we are using the subway too. >> some businesses didn't listen to the mayor's call to shut down but people who ventured out quickly realized why getting on the road was a bad idea. >> nina, please give miguel a kiss for me. he used to take care of me when i was sick. he always took care of me. >> i've known sandra for like 10 years now. >> don't tell my age, miguel. >> reporter: she said you used to take care of her. >> yeah, i used to make her sandwiches and salads. >> reporter: no wonder she loves you. i want to show you how the day started with people not smart enough to stay off the

>> it was a day that went from bad to worse. this if cab is spinning his front wheel drive only. >> what happened? you got stuck? >> vehicles impede the plows from clearing streets for emergency vehicles. the only cars allowed on the road after 2:30 today. even the rescue trucks like this fdny ambulance in chelsea needed a rescue. >> richie is a maintenance worker. what did you just jump to do and help rescue? >> we wanted to get out of the snow. emergencies are popping up. they were struggling so i figured i might as well help. >> how long did it take? >> about 45 minutes. me and a couple of my

>> new yorkers jumped in to help cheering when it got unstuck, illustrating the need to stay or go home. >> the owner of charles dinner started sending employees home after lunch. >> all my employees are leaving. hopefully they can get home safe. >> at the west side tavern they planned to stay open to get their regulars through their blizzard. >> this is a walk-in center. if you can stay open you should stay open. it's up to you. they're not going to low er er the rents, are they? >> reporter: live in chelsea you can see the kids are packing snow balls. the perk, it's packing snow. as the business owner said from west side tavern, the rents don't get lower. he's staying in the city. some other businesses that didn't feel it was safe

after the mayor said get home and get home know. nina peneda, channel 7, eyewitness news. >> what a great guy. he's delivering on foot because the bikes don't work. if he's delivering to you i hope you have a nice tip for him because that's fantastic. >> and he deserves it. >> you've known him for a long time? >> his kids were babies when i met him and now they're in college. >> way to go. darla miles is in the township of haslet's in monmouth let. -- has didn'tlet in monmouth. >> reporter: we've seen a steadily flow of snowfall. the wind are consistently smacking us in the face. we have a number of plows coming here on highway 36. they've done a good job of keeping up with the snowfall in part because a lot of people have been staying off the roads.

notary public black top yet but they are still doing a good job with that plow just going by. we saw a little bit of a peak in vehicular traffic but now people are not outside. a few people got caught off guard with the volume and snowfall coming in so early. >> i wouldn't up around 2:00 and there was a little bit of snow and then it progressed pretty quickly. >> that's pretty much everyone's story. this gas station buzzing with people caught off guard. >> just making sure i'm ready to go for tomorrow morning. >> is this gas for you snow blower or generator? >> snow blower. hopefully we don't need the sdwren -- generator. >> have you used it at all? >> it is but it has gas in it from last year so it's not running well. >> how are the roads? sdmrsz -- >> it's horrible.

drive i'd stay home. >> few cars but plenty of plows trying to keep up with the snowfall. ralph borrowed this monster truck for the monster storm. >> so this isn't your car, this is a customer's car? >> right. it's michelle's. >> it's a woman's car? >> yeah. >> waves and high winds kicked up along union beach on the jersey shore. the railing on the board walk is iced over. >> it's nice and i got my brand new truck so i had to come out. >> reporter: so we're about a mile, mile and half away from union beach in haslet. around 6:00 the high tide is expected to come in. that's the biggest concern. union beach is under a voluntary evacuate order as well as seaside park, seaside

you also have barnabet that's under a mandatory evacuation order. many of the homeowner are gone after super storm sandy. you have two events going on here, you have needing and these blizzard-like conditions. >> darla, really looks a whole lot different right now than it did a while ago. it looks like you're in a lull there now as the wind -- a little west wind and a little west snow blowing around. >> reporter: well, what happens is you have consistent snowfall and consistent wind but when you have a gust it kicks off the snow. sometimes it seems snowier but it's not necessarily the snowfall. i've been out here all day and it's going -- >> darla, thank you. we're going to get to mayor

talking. there's potential flooding and the efforts that have been put in place to make sure that we will not have flooding. very impressed by the work that was done by the parks department securing the beaches at coney island and in the rockaways and other parts of queens and staten island. i went out to staten island to north shore to get a sense of how things were going there with the efforts of the sanitation department. the sanitation department is doing an extraordinary job. i want to thank the men and women of the sanitation department. i had an opportunity to talk to some of the sanitation workers as i drove around. i thanked them on behalf of the people of the city for the great job they're doing. they got ahead of the storm and stuck with it every step of the way. now, the fact is sanitation is dealing with a tough problem at this moment. they are fighting an uphill

keeps coming down. they keep plowing but the rate is intense, between 1 and 3 inches per hour depending where you are in the city. recognize that this is a storm that's got a lot -- packing a lot of punch and is continuing very forcefully and will do so into the evening. that emphasizes how important it is to get out of the way of our sanitation workers and let them do their jobs. i'll say again, travel ban is in effect. the nypd will enforce the travel ban. it's very important that people clear to roads so sanitation can do its work and get this city back on its feet in the next day or two. of course we need to have freedom for the first responders to get to anyone in danger. nypd made clear by chief o'neil before that no one wants to have to

take any measures necessary to keep our roads clear in the middle of this emergency. you'll see some images that are starting to go out on social media of the nypd in action with people. this is a warning given clearly, if you want to avoid these enforcement actions get off the street now. it's also important to recognize that because of what's happened with our mass transit it's all the more reason that if someone needs to get somewhere they need to go immediately of course now. not only are the mta buses are no longer running but subways that are above now have now been suspended. under ground subways continue. the state made the decision and we're very happy about that decision to keep the underground subway operations going. so there is a way

to do given that this is a storm that continues to grow, it's getting colder, it's getting dark the smart thing to do is to get away from any place that you're at. if you're out for any reason doing errands, get home. get home and get safe. the national weather service has given us an up now and it's quite striking. we said earlier in the day that if we broke more than 20 inches of snow it would rank in one of the top five storms in the history of new york city since 1869. the last meeting i had was from 4:00 at central park. the central park has always been the recognized location that's use today measure snowfall in the city. that's been the go to location over many, many decades.

4:00 p.m. in central park 19.3 inches. so that was well over an hour ago. at this point very likely that we've passed the 20 inch mark right there. certainly in other parts of the city more snowfall has occurred. the current scenario from the national weather service has us expecting 24 to 28 inches of snow. that's 24 to 28 inches before this storm is over. so this is a forecast that in the last 24 hours has jumped up several times. now as high as 28 inches. from the point of view of the city we have the prepare for a worse case scenario than that and be ready if it goes further. again, our sanitation crews are out doing an extraordinary job, working very long hours, working day and night. they will have plenty of salt, plenty of vehicles ready. i'm very pleased with what i saw

the parks department to protect against coastal flooding that i mentioned. so far the indications on the kind of tides will have is quite moderate, no more than 3 to 4 feet above normal levels, which is manageable. i want to emphasize how important it is for folks to help our first responders. the simplyist things is you have a fire hydrant in front of your house keep it clear. the life your save can be your own, family, friends, neighbors. as chief o'neil indicated we have seen several situations where people over extended themselves in some cases with tragic results.

your open limitations. if you're in good enough shape to be traveling great, if you're not let someone else do it, another family member or folks that go around the neighborhood offering to help shovel. better to spend a few folk bucks than hurt herself. any problems with heat and hot water call 311 if your building management is not dealing with them. if anyone's life is in danger call 911 quickly so we can help them. >> quickly now in spanish [foreign language being spoken] >> you're listening to mayor de

said because the storm has been an uphill battle it's created a challenge. >> he reiterated that this storm is packing quite a lunch. he applauded the job that sanitation has done is far. again, he stressed just to get off the streets now if you don't have to be there. >> the mayor said the travel ban remains in effect. the nypd will be out there enforcing the travel ban. the mayor's words, the nypd will use any measures necessary to keep the roads clear. let's go back to them. >> originally we were pro projecting until at least midnight. we will continue that into the early morning hours given how strong that storm has been and how long it's going. we will set a specific time as soon as possible. we will

on this evening. deputy commissioner drayton from oem. >> thank you. as i mentioned earlier we continue to be very, very busy upstairs. i mentioned to all of you yesterday and again today about a tow truck task force. as of 3:00 p.m. there are 181 total towing assets available. health and medical esf prioritize ambulances and emergency vehicles ahead the state. as of about 4:00 today we had 277 responses in tows. we're still conducting calls where the public to assure continuity. we are using a notifying nyc and social media channels to amplify the messages.

management is works where our emergency response team across the city. these civilian volunteers are trained to assist first responders and are feeding us information. thank you. >> thank you very much . now i'd like to bring up our sanitation commissioner cathryn garcia with great thanks to her family for the work they're doing. >> thank you, mr. mayor. i think the members of the sanitation department have come in very geared up to storm. it's been an extraordinary tough storm to fight but they have been dedicated through this day. they need to maintain that focus as we go to shift change later today because we still have a lot of snow anticipated to fall. we've got 2,500 pieces of equipment as i mentioned earlier. we do anticipate in the morning around 8:00 that we will bring in additional front end loaders to spy snow.

will also bring in our laborers at 8:00 tomorrow morning. >> thank you so much. now our transportation commissioner holly trot tenberg. >> thank you, mr. mayor. i would like to thank the d.o.t workers, our roadway crews helping to plow, our bridges to keep our bridges and pedestrian over passes clear, our traffic management center, our emergency response. continuing to run. you can still connect with the subways but if you're coming to staten island just a reminder now buses and no longer operational. >> thank you. i want to ebb quo the echo that -- echo that. the d.o.t is they are doing a great job responding to ing

nypd is enforcing the travel ban and keeping people safe. i want you to hear from chief department jimmy o'neil. >> thank you. i'd like to thank the men and women of the nypd and their families too because the cops are aware from their families and their families have to go through this without them. we have 343 tows and then 312 accidents. there will be three deaths from shovelling snow. one out in staten island and two out in queens. don't over exert yourself. if you can't do it hire someone to do it for you. we have no significant radio pack log right now throughout the city. we're doing well. we do have a communication transportation plan where we take 9/11 operators and come

metro tech. we've been using the system to make sure we have enough 911 operators. >> thank you. i want to introduce chief booth and thank him for all the great work that the folks of ems are doing. they are also contending with difficult weather conditions. i want an update on that. >> good afternoon, everybody. today the more than services and emergency services and fire department responded to 3,000 requests. we're getting to life he have threatening emergency rooms. we've had some stuck ambulances but it's been -- mitigated.

take any questions that there are. >> can you elaborate on nypd actions? >> absolutely. when the travel ban went into effect a lot of people had just heard about it and were getting home. nypd took a very generous view of that. the chief has instructed the men and women of the pd to give warnings. i saw the chief do it himself in coney island. we've seen real improvement on the roadways, meaning more and more people are going home and staying home. the roads are getting clearer and clearer. people who go out now after this many warnings are asking for enforcement. you will see more enforcement. some of that enforcement has been captured and will be getting it on video images and will be put out on social media so people of the city can see that nypd is very serious about this enforcement.

>> do you have an estimated price tag for the snowstorm? >> not yet. the good news for this season is we had a very substantial snow budget in place given what we saw the last couple of years. we did not use that snow budget until this point in any meaningful way. i think i might have the number here. the fact is this is the first one. i think we budgeted $77 million if i'm getting this right for this fiscal year. this is the first time we're tapping into that in a meaningful way. i think we're in good shape. any other questions? keep going. >> did you have to make the case to governor cuomo to keep the subways open? >> there was a consensus on that. the first conversation we had earlier in the day we were wanting them to keep going. we even earlier in the day were

get to the point of a travel ban and we both felt earlier that we weren't at that point yet. later in the afternoon when we got greater detail we started talking about doing a travel ban. that let us look at the trajectory over 24 hours, how greatly intensified these forecasts have been. i think the mta did things right. first the buses and then the trains and now the underground subways are still going, which i think is a great move. again emphasizing to people, the travel ban is in effect. the state made clear and we agree in effect until further notice. that leads into the early morning hours. we'll have an update before the evening is out

frame to that. that travel ban is in effect until you hear or -- other wise. the travel ban in effect until you hear a specific message saying it will end at a specific hour. it's very important for people to honor the travel ban. >> last call for any questions. >> can you give us an update on the airports? >> we're just starting a conversation with the port authority to get a valid timeline for the reopening of the airports. we're going to work with them on that. that will be important to consider in terms of personnel.

read on that time frame. what about for the -- what about for the aboveground buses and subways? >> nay will have to make that call. every time i've stood here i had to give a higher number of because of the nature of the storm. when we finally see the storm end and see how much snow it different ed dump -- dump it ededen oh -- dumped on us. we still believe this storm goes until 9:00 or 10:00 easily this evening it's hard to say when the restart time may be. >> i have one more. broadway is canceled. >> i appreciate that everyone made that decision. that was a possible decision. >> did you or your folks reach out to folks from broadway? >> yes.

it was regrettable to take on the matinee evening showing. there would be so many employees stranded. we needed to get people home right away. we couldn't let them be held up at their workplace. when i was in coney island i think we got there before 2:00 and you still saw a fair number of stores open. then i went to staten island and then to parks slope. by the time i got to parks slope maybe about 4:15 or 4:30 almost every neighborhood was shut down. employers heeded the warning that if everyone has to be off the road they can't keep their employees to violate the travel ban. i think that was very effective. in terms of

right thing and responsible thing and recognized it was unreasonable. >> i heard there's a fight over salt. how have you heard about that? >> there's not two departments that tend to fight with each other. i think we have lots of salt. we started the storm with over 300,000 tons of salt. we're obviously going to make sure all the departments have what they need. the parks department has done a great job in this crisis. everybody is working together, omv helping to coordinate all agencies. thank you so much. you've been listening to mayor bill de blasio update us on the city's progress in terms of dealing with this blizzard of 2016. i think one of the most important things he told sus the travel ban is now in effect. at first it was going to be in

it's boeing to be longer than that because the snow totals keep going up. so now at least now into the early morning hours it will be enforced. if you don't have to be out there on the roads don't. the news conference, there were actually three deaths as a result of this of snow all due to people shovelling snow. one person on staten island, two people in queens according to the chief of department. very busy. the mayor talked about the collaboration and cooperation that it takes to clean up in a snowstorm like this. it's not just the sanitation department, it's the parks department, the fdny, nypd. there were 312 accidents out on the streets of new york city. >> the mayor was asked if he had any idea when the part of

it would be back up and running again. absolutely no idea. got to see ma the storm what the storm is going to do, how much work is to be done. same thing about the airports. not sure when they will be able to reopen the airports. >> very quickly before we go to break the two things that seem to be running very short list, underground subways and that

thank you all for documenting the blizzard of 2016. that's where i would like to be. >> in front of the fireplace. nice and toety. you get -- toasty. you get the impression that the pets are

>> that montage we headed into break with had me welling up like it's so beautiful. >> it's great. >> i used to do that. you did i grew up in texas. lee goldberg hapz been work has dominican republic has been work -- has been working so hard all day. the mayor talks about the city when i collaborate with you with the numbers. he said 19.4 inches in central park. >> that's right. that was as of 4:00. definitely over 20. that means we're tied at least for the sixth biggest snowstorm in new york city history. the next stop -- any chance we can come back to this. >> where did you get that? >> on the news desk. the blizzard of '96 that should be 20 inches in new york city, 20.2. that's it. we'll retire it for good.

one. >> we have to rearrange the numbers for sure. we're climbing up the charts. i think we're going to go into number three spot. i think we're going to surpass the blizzard of 1888. i think we're going to close in on 2 feet. we still have several hours. again, jeff smith is right there. we'll get to him in a moment. 27 degrees on the west side, gusts at 35 miles per hour. the highlight has been or the low light depending on how you see it 1 to 2 feet. the big cut off north of i-84 but heavy had feet of snow in northern new jersey, hudson valley. close to the connecticut coast amounts close to a foot. west orange a foot and a half and climbing. la guardia over 20 inches, hicksville 19, york town about

start to get to the cut off in northern westchester county. granite 11 inches and bridgeport coming in at 7. we're in the home stretch of this now. a little whole there but that's going to curve offshore. this band is still pretty impressive. heavy snow on the island. this is going to take you until midnight or more to get out of here. heavy snows are getting a little lighter. we're finally seeing a little bit of a drop off in sussex and morris but it's still pretty heavy in morris county. there it is over new york city, sheep's head bay. it's that heavy band from long island and northern new jersey and then you see the lighter snow over ocean county. this is the final sign that we're seeing the final stages of the snow. meteorologist jeff smith is playing in the snow again. it's

>> reporter: you know what's interesting, the storm continued to over perform what the radar shows because the atmosphere is already so moist from the snow that's fallen. the snow has not gotten any lighter even though on the radar returns -- we can put the graphic on full screen. those pink bands are starting to get lighter over new york city but we still have visibility down to an eight of a mile. that trend should continue. 1 to 2 inches per hour possible through 7:00, 8:00 tonight here in new york city and points south and east. >> thank you, jeff. again, the low you can see it offshore. there's a couple of lows. this is turning into the primary. the parent low is almost saying to its kid, time to go, i'm going to tow you offshoreshore.

still a couple more hours of accumulating snow. a quick move offshore after midnight and them we start to see the skies begin to clear out. heavy snow bands right now, the brunt through 7:00. another hour or so, maybe 2. snow ends by midnight to 2:00 a.m., widespread 1 to 2 feet. we've going down to 22 with blizzard conditions tonight. the sun comes back tomorrow and the melting will begin. it should be nice and tranquil into early week. we will continue to take you through the finish line but we have several hours to go. >> thank you. >> i like that, the storms over perform. >> i like that low going out into the atlantic. that's very nice. a lot of our reporters have been over performing today. lucy yang among them. she's live in prospect heights, brooklyn. lucy. >> reporter: i'm glad you didn't say i was underperforming so i appreciate that. now i want to mention something, visibility is extremely poor. the wind is blowing sideways. even in our drive from staten

afternoon visibility was very, very poor. here's what we saw on the streets. so many people walking down the streets instead of the sidewalks. now, the sidewalks are actually pretty well shovelled. they are actually passable. everybody is out on the streets. i just want to caution folks not to do that because when we're sitting in the vehicle and we don't have great visibility it's a shock to suddenly come upon a person walking down the street instead of the sidewalk. you're taking a look at that right now. as you can see as my photographer marvin is showing you, here is flatbush avenue again. folks are walking in the street. we checked out the sidewalks and they are passable. i don't understand why they want to put themselves in harm's way, especially with so many vehicles losing control and vehicles not being able to stop quickly. so that's the wrap here in prospect heights brooklyn.

for channel 7, eyewitness news. >> quick question for you. we do see that a few people there are walking in the street, running around. are there many businesses in that area that are still open? are they just heading home? i saw one guy that looked like he was jogging. >> he was out for his jog. >> reporter: yeah. i know. he wasn't dressed very warm ly ly. that's my other beef. wear layers. don't get me started on my mommy rant. there's a lot of businesses that are closed. a lot of folks have been asking us what stores are open. folks are getting groceries. i have seen people stock up on groceries. a lot of the mom and pop shops here on flatbush avenue are closed. there's no reason for them to be open. you can see -- marvin, i don't know if you can go down there. the deli is open. food establishments seem to be open. anything else that's not an emergency item are

>> you have to think that because there's a travel ban that the walkers through it's okay go on the street because there's no cars, there's a travel ban. i know you talk today many people -- talked to many people out there and tried to see what would possess them to walk in the street. >> reporter: that's a great point. there are vehicles on the streets. we see emergency vehicles still out there and plows are out there. those plows cannot stop. we al know that. they're carrying so much tonnage. we have seen so many vehicles get stuck or lose control. you just don't want to be in that position. you can't expect these cars to have complete control of the road. >> no. we're seeing that vehicle that didn't -- >> >> reporter: look at this one right here. this is what we see. here's stuck on the bank here. now he's going to have to gun it to get out or somebody is going to have to help him push or dig.

>> lieu say, stay wan -- lucy, stay warm. great job today. you're the new definition of storm trooper. in the day and age of star wars you're a storm trooper. you know what we haven't seen too much of today, power outages. >> everybody is happy about that. there was a concern that this was going to be a heavy wet snow that means a lot of down power lined. we're going to take a quick break and eyewitness news at 6:00 will be coming right back. it's not about hugging trees. it's not about being wasteful either. you just gotta find that balance. where taking care of yourself

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