Snow Shovelers Face Months-Long Wait for City Paychecks Despite Mayor's $30 Hourly Promise

Emergency snow shovelers who answered Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s call for winter storm help may wait until spring to receive payment, despite the city’s promise of $30 per hour wages, according to workers and city officials.

Dan Bennette, a 38-year-old Queens resident from South Ozone Park, worked as a snow shoveler starting January 26 but remains unpaid more than a month later, he told THE CITY. City workers informed him that payment would come “at the end of the season, when everything is finished,” Bennette said.

“Some people have the assumption that we would be paid weekly or bi-weekly,” Bennette explained.

The delayed payment system has frustrated workers and may discourage future participation in the emergency program. When one shoveler learned this week that the Department of Sanitation would not pay until March, “he stood up and walked out of the garage,” according to Bennette.

Joshua Goodman, a spokesperson for the sanitation department, said workers from this week’s storm may receive payment in two weeks, though he offered no guarantee. Last year, the city took between four and six weeks to pay workers, according to Goodman. The city’s 311 website warns that payment for emergency snow shoveling work could take up to 12 weeks.

The payment delays have created a pattern of worker dissatisfaction. Yasmine, whose son shoveled for the city after December 14 snowfall, said he waited until early February for payment. When the city called asking him to work during January’s storm and again this week, “he said no both times,” she told THE CITY. Instead, he shoveled private properties and received same-day payment.

“I believe more people would help if they paid them in an ample amount of time,” Yasmine said.

Despite payment concerns, Mamdani’s social media campaign successfully recruited workers. The mayor promoted a pay increase from $19.14 to $30 per hour due to blizzard conditions, drawing significant response from residents.

Last month, 1,500 people registered as snow shovelers over several days, according to the sanitation department. During this month’s blizzard, 1,400 people signed up within the first 24 hours alone.

Peter Moskos, a John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor, answered Mamdani’s call on Sunday and registered the same day at an Astoria garage. Before starting their 12-hour shifts, a sanitation employee briefed workers that no one had received payment for January work, though the department was attempting to expedite the process.

“He said, ‘Mamdani gave you a raise, and Mamdani wants four feet wide,’” Moskos recalled, referring to the regulation requiring four-foot-wide cleared paths for wheelchair accessibility.

Workers faced operational challenges beyond payment delays. Moskos said his crew was supposed to receive van transportation but the driver never appeared, forcing them to walk through the blizzard to clear intersections, fire hydrants, and bus stops.

“It’s all kind of chaotic and half-assed, but, you know, I wasn’t expecting a fine, well-oiled machine,” Moskos said.

For some workers, the delayed payment represents a significant hardship. Bennette, a newlywed and aviation operations worker, has been unemployed for eight months—his longest period without income. Despite the payment uncertainty, he welcomed the work opportunity.

“This will get me up out of the house, off the couch and going out and being a productive person in society,” Bennette said.

The city’s emergency snow removal program relies heavily on temporary workers to supplement regular sanitation crews during major storms, but the extended payment timeline may undermine future recruitment efforts as residents seek more reliable compensation elsewhere.