Melting pots: NYC sanitation races to get snow into giant hot tubs, thaw the city

Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay

Weather: ☀️ Sunny, highs in the lower 20s, cold enough to create a mosaic of ice on the Hudson River but likely not cold enough for a full freeze.

It's Thursday in New York City, where I'm still getting my lower legs cold and wet every time I have to trudge through a mound of snow to get on a bus.

And for New Yorkers with disabilities or strollers, this lingering snow is more than an inconvenience. 

While the roadways are increasingly clear, the giant piles of snow blocking bus stops and crosswalks haven't gone anywhere in these below-freezing conditions. 

That's why the sanitation department has deployed eight roving hot tubs to melt these piles as quickly as possible.

Here's how they work.

And here's what else is happening:

• Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday kicked off his first budget negotiation process by blaming former Mayor Eric Adams for leaving him with a $12 billion deficit, one he'd like to fix by raising taxes on the wealthy.
  • The mayor yesterday also said he’s committed to disbanding an NYPD unit that responds to protests — a day after officers from the unit arrested anti-ICE demonstrators for occupying a Manhattan hotel lobby.
• The MTA said the city’s congestion pricing tolls raked in $562 million after expenses during their first year of operation, which is even more than the agency expected.
• Officials said New York state's total bill to post the National Guard in prisons — a response to last year’s corrections officers strike — is set to swell past $1 billion as staffing shortages continue.
• Police last night arrested a man city officials said repeatedly rammed a car into the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in Brooklyn, injuring no one but sparking a hate crime investigation.
• Peaches, Mavis Staples, Sheer Mag: They're all among the 8 best concerts coming to New York City in February.
• 🎧 What Saks’ Bankruptcy Says About NYC Business Right Now: On the latest episode of NYC NOW, we head up Fifth Avenue to check in on the iconic department store, whose parent company, Saks Global, has filed for bankruptcy. Listen here.

• Meanwhile, over in Jersey City, the snow removal process hasn't gone perfectly and the new mayor, James Solomon, has apologized and taken responsibility. 
• Dante de Blasio was among the anti-ICE protesters arrested at the TriBeCa Hilton Garden Inn earlier this week.
• Gov. Kathy Hochul has about a week to pick a 2026 running mate.
• A Westchester man's elderly mom died and the New York Times failed to cancel and refund her annual print subscription, so he got NBC 4's Lynda Baquero on the case.
• SEE IT: A sprinter van became encased in ice after the driver parked under a leaky pipe in the Bronx.
• Paul Dano said he's "grateful that the world spoke up for me" after Quentin Tarantino called him weak.
• Writer Dan McQuade, the author of this masterpiece about weird celebrity quotes posted at the Jon Bon Jovi rest stop in New Jersey, has died at the age of 43.