(Middle Village, NY January 12, 5:30pm UPDATE) As mounds of snow still sit on the streets of Middle Village and Maspeth from the December 26th storm, our neighborhood was hit with about 9 inches of snow on January 12th. Residents are cautioned to avoid driving during or immediately after the storm to give sanitation crews space to plow streets and corners.

Schools Chancellor Cathie Black announced just after 5 a.m. that New York City public schools are open today. Public schools have only been closed six times since 1978. However Middle Village's Christ the King High School classes were cancelled today and as a result the Community Board 5Q meeting scheduled for the school cafeteria tonight has also been cancelled.

Unlike the December 26th storm, Department of Sanitation crews were out in force with most area streets plowed by 9:00am.

However not all snow clean up by the City of New York is running smoothly. “NYC continues to ignore cleaning sidewalks and corners of city owned property such as railroad bridges and areas adjacent to the Long Island Expressway,” said Robert Holden, president of the JPCA. Holden said that snow was still piled up on most city owned sidewalk areas from the December 26th storm. “We have many city owned properties in Middle Village and Maspeth that the city completely ignores after a snowstorm,” said Holden.

Additionally, many homes in the area did not receive recycling pick up for 3 weeks. UPDATE*** The Department of Sanitation Queens West 5 unit announced that pickup for recycling items will resume tonight (Wed. Jan 12th) and continue tomorrow if necessary.

Mayor Bloomberg announced that over 300 salt spreaders and 1,700 snow plows were implemented as part of the city's new 15-point plan for quick snow removal that was announced this week. The Mayor also announced that alternate side of the street has been suspended for Wednesday along with parking meters. He said that residents who are parked legally should leave their cars there but vehicles parked that are blocking plows will be towed at the owner's expense.

Maspeth and Middle Village residents needing snow removal can call the Juniper Park Civic Association hotline at 718-651-5865.