On his third day as mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio spoke to reporters about winter storm Hercules—while he was shoveling his sidewalk in Park Slope! As NY1 reporter Josh Robin put it, "Never saw this on E. 79th folks," a reference to Bloomberg's townhouse mansion on the Upper East Side.

De Blasio said, "This has been and remains a dangerous storm. It is going to be bitter cold today, and New Yorkers need to be extremely careful going outdoors. The best things people can do are to stay off the roads so we can clear them as fast as possible, and to check in on elderly and vulnerable neighbors who might need help this morning." Also, de Blasio still looks really tall while he shovels:

By the way—de Blasio says Dante will be shoveling later.

A press release from his office read:

The National Weather Service’s Winter Storm Warning remains in effect across all five boroughs and much of the region through 1 PM Friday. With heavy snow, gusts of up to 35 MPH and wind chills from 5 to 15 below zero, Mayor Bill de Blasio urges New Yorkers to exercise caution in going outdoors, refrain from any unnecessary travel and, if going to work today, to utilize public transit and allow additional time for their morning commute… Nearly 2,500 DSNY, DOT, DEP and Parks plows are on the streets as of early this morning. The top accumulations so far are 6.5 inches. High winds will continue to blow plowed snow back into the streets, requiring additional passes… The Sanitation Department will be calling in pre-registered snow laborers to clear crosswalks, bus stop shelters and other locales.



Residents and business owners are urged not to shovel snow into the street when shoveling sidewalks and cars, which will delay snow clearance.

You can also see where snow has been cleared by checking out NYC.gov, for the PlowNYC feature.

Public schools are closed, a decision made by the Mayor, Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina and, probably, Dante de Blasio. The schools' after-school programs and PSAL games are cancelled. CUNY classes are also cancelled.

Alternate side parking regulations are suspended today. Parking meters, though, remain in effect. There's no recycling or trash pickup until snow clearing is finished. Senior centers are closed.

The Staten Island Ferry is operating on a modified rush hour schedule this morning with boats departing every 20 minutes. East River Ferry service is running, while Rockaway Ferry service is suspended.

For MTA service, check out MTA.info for the latest: For subway service, many trains were stored yesterday in anticipation of the storm so there are changes to express service; Long Island Rail Road is operating on a weekend schedule; Metro-North is running on a Saturday schedule.