New Yorkers died shoveling snow during blizzard

Andrew Cuomo issued a travel ban Saturday for New York City and Long Island, including all travel from New Jersey bridges and tunnels into and out of the city.

States of Emergency have been declared for New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Rockland, and Orange Counties.

Cuomo assisted a stranded driver on the Cross Island Parkway as blizzardlike conditions battered New York Saturday. But, generally, the snow will be falling over a 24-hour period to 7 p.m. Saturday.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses in the city also aren’t running. It’s not clear yet when the ban will be lifted, but snow is expected to continue through Saturday night.

In Washington, the federal government closed its offices at noon, and all mass transit was shutting down through Sunday.

By Friday night, parts of Kentucky, the Virginias and North Carolina had already received well over a foot of snow, while more than a half a foot had fallen in some areas of Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Tennessee.

And remember that you can track the progress of the city’s snow plows online during the storm. “I wouldn’t say we’re even halfway there yet”, Maloney told CNN.

Residents can expect “minor to locally moderate coastal impacts”, they said.

The blizzard is expected to be one of the top-five worst ever to hit New York since record-keeping began in 1869, according to the New York Daily News.

“Go home, stay home”, the mayor said at a press conference Saturday morning, as he updated the city on the first winter storm of 2016.

The mayor also announced a $53.7 million plan to combat homelessness, including shelter fix, stable housing solutions for 3/4 housing situations, job search assistance for over 10,000 individuals, and new supportive housing units. The MTA said snow was covering the third rail that powers trains. The travel ban was to start at 2:30 p.m.

Thinking that you really need to get out of the house?

All flights out of John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport have been canceled, Cuomo said. Additional information from the Governor’s earlier briefings is available here.