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City prioritizes South Buffalo in snow relief operation

South Buffalo received three more inches of snow than the rest of Buffalo over the past week.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — No matter how much they dig and no matter how many times they try, residents in Kaisertown have been in a losing battle with Mother Nature this week. 

While the entire City of Buffalo was rocked by the past week’s back-to-back lake-effect snow bands, the South Buffalo neighborhoods were hit the hardest. 

They saw 55 inches in snow totals — three feet more than the rest of the city — leaving neighbors like Cythia Petrow ready to throw in the shovel. 

“I'm going to Clearwater,” Petrow said. “I'm gonna sell the house and bring the inner tube and a pair of shorts and some towels, and I'm out.”

Petrow wasn’t the only one. Just up the street sits Joe Bataglia, who said he spent multiple hours a day shoveling over the last four days. 

“I’m tired of doing this,” he said. “I’ve got stuff to do, other things to do.”

But as of Thursday night, help is on the way. The city launched a new initiative, bringing in tow trucks and physically removing all the trapped vehicles to allow DPW crews to clear the streets curb to curb. Then, they plan to return all vehicles to their original locations. If they can’t, they’ll take them to another lot in the city free of charge. 

“The operation is geared at clearing the streets,” DPW commissioner, Nate Martin, said. “We've got to get it out now to prepare ourselves for the rest of winter.”

The operation plans to begin in Kaisertown and hit the other South Buffalo neighborhoods beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday and is welcomed by neighbors just hoping to stop digging.  

“I think it's a good idea,” Petrow said. “I’m 50. I'm not getting younger, any quicker. I love this neighborhood. I pretty much grew up in South Buffalo. I just can't keep up with it.”

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