New York schools to reopen on Tuesday as city digs out from massive winter storm

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SHOTLIST:

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York – 23 February 2026

1. People shoveling snow on sidewalk

2. Various of people in Prospect Park sledging

STORYLINE:

Neighbors, government workers and a powerful railroad snow-clearing machine nicknamed “Darth Vader” scrambled to dig out much of the northeastern United States from a brutal and — in some areas — record-breaking storm that blanketed the region with snow and resulted in thousands of flight cancellations.

But as the snow moved northward and tapered off in other areas Tuesday, forecasters warned that another storm could be right around the corner.

Monday’s storm that meteorologists are calling the strongest in a decade dumped more than 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow in parts of the Northeast.

By Tuesday, roads were beginning to reopen, mass transportation was coming back online in some cities and power had returned for some of the hundreds of thousands who had lost electricity in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware and Rhode Island.

In New York City, which canceled classed Monday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that schools would reopen for in person learning on Tuesday, raising questions about how feasible that is with snow still piled along sidewalks.

Residents in New York City's Brooklyn Borough were seen on Monday shoveling snow from sidewalks while children enjoyed the day off from school and rode sleds down a hill in Prospect Park.

Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said school should remain closed, while Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, described the situation as “a big mess.”

Spokespersons for Mamdani didn’t respond to an email seeking comment but his schools chief, Chancellor Kamar Samuels, said in a post on X, that they were "confident in our decision to reopen."

AP video shot by Drew Callister

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