NEW YORK — The Mamdani administration did not recruit enough emergency snow shovelers to handle a recent winter storm that dumped nearly a foot of snow on the city, critics said, according to the New York Post.

As of Tuesday, 1,800 workers had been signed up for temporary snow-shoveling jobs this season, with a peak of 550 deployed to clear bus stops, crosswalks, and other public areas after the Jan. 25–26 storm, a City Hall source told the Post. By comparison, more than 6,400 shovelers were recruited for the 2015–16 winter season, when Central Park saw nearly 33 inches of snow.

City officials said the storm has caused delays in trash pickup and other services. Critics argued that the administration should have ramped up recruitment earlier. “Once it became clear that we were going to have a major storm on our hands, the city should have gone all-out in advertising for snow laborer jobs,” said Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens).

Council Minority Leader David Carr (R-Staten Island) praised sanitation workers for their efforts during nine consecutive days of subfreezing weather but added that the administration “dropped the ball when they didn’t hire snow shovelers as early as possible.”

The Sanitation Department said comparisons with previous winters are “misleading” due to changes in weather patterns, the snow laborer program, and the nature of work post-pandemic. The agency said this year’s deployment was the largest since the pandemic and included night shifts and specialized equipment.