NYC Snow: Mayor Bloomberg Declares Weather Emergency

Mayor Bloomberg has declared a weather emergency as forecasts call for 8 to 12 inches of snow.

Bloomberg caught plenty of heat when the city declined to declare an emergency during December's harrowing blizzard.

From the New York Times:

As New Yorkers learned when the city declared a weather emergency for the lesser snowstorm, a weather emergency is not the same as a snow emergency. In a snow emergency, motorists would have to get their cars off some 300 designated thoroughfares. In a weather emergency, the cars can stay on the streets. They have to be at the curb, not in the traffic lanes -- in other words, parked, not stuck and abandoned.

Alternate side parking and parking meter fees are suspended. Garbage pickups are also suspended until further notice.

Snow is expected to last until early Thursday morning. The snow will be accompanied by wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour.

The Mayor's emergency declaration urges residents to "avoid all unnecessary driving" and to take public transit whenever possible.