STATEN ISLAND — It seems their complaints were justified.
Staten Islanders urged better snow removal after almost every storm this winter, claiming that their borough was the last to be cleared.
Now a report by Staten Island's City Council delegation found the island has less snow removal equipment than any other, despite being ranked third in land area, according to NY1.
The borough also has the least amount of plow blades and storage space for salt.
"People in my borough have always said, 'How come when I leave here for a commute from Staten Island, there's tons of snow, and I get to Manhattan and it's all clear and black top?' Well, this is why," Councilman Vincent Ignizio told NY1.
The Department of Sanitation calculates the amount of snow removal equipment on how much trash is picked up and Staten Island has less that any other borough, according to NY1.
"Since the new mayor, it's completely different," Gergis Ghamel, 41, told DNAinfo New York after the storm. "Usually it's clean right away."
Three days after a storm in January, residents said many streets were left unplowed and had mounds of snow on them, though a spokesman from the Sanitation Department said cold temperatures meant the salt was unable to break up the snow.
Ignizio previously called for an oversight hearing on the department for its handling of the storms and a 15-year-old Staten Islander created a popular Facebook page dissing the DOE for its decision to keep schools open despite the snow.
