New York City public school buildings closed; Mamdani says every street was plowed

WABC

Mon, January 26, 2026 at 4:14 PM UTC

2 min read

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Parts of New York City received nearly a foot of snow on Sunday, prompting city schools to switch to virtual learning for Monday, but Mayor Zohran Mamdani says the goal is for the city to be back to normal on Tuesday.

"Our goal is for all services to be fully restored by tomorrow, with all streets cleared, students back at school in person and our city back to normal, albeit with a lot of snow piled up," Mamdani said.

After facing his first snowstorm as mayor of New York, Mamdani said over 5,000 sanitation workers used 2,500 pieces of equipment to pour brine, dispense tens of millions of pounds of salt and plow every street in the city.

"The strength of our response is a testament to all of those who put in long shifts," the mayor said on Monday. "New York was prepared, and New York weathered the storm."

Mamdani said DOT crews assisted 53 motorists Sunday, and a Hazardous Travel Advisory remains in effect on Monday.

LIVE UPDATES: Winter Storm coverage

The mayor said the city school system has seen 400,000 virtual log-ons Monday between parents, students and staff.

He said 500,000 students were scheduled for school Monday as grades six through 12 were already observing a previously scheduled Professional Development Day.

After saying he visited a classroom remotely Monday morning, Mamdani said he reiterated his offer to students that they could hit him in the face with a snowball.

"They were very excited about that and asked for a time and place," the mayor said. "I said you can find me anywhere in New York City."

In addition to in-person learning, all after-school programs, adult education and other school-based programming were also cancelled.

Archdiocese of New York schools have a snow day on Monday, no remote instruction. Brooklyn Diocese is closing elementary school buildings, and individual school administrations will decide whether snow day or remote learning.

Charter and nonpublic schools make independent decisions regarding closures. However, charter schools co-located in NYC public school buildings will be closed when NYCPS pivots to remote instruction.

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