Blanket of snow begins to recede in NYC

Suprises await weary residents

A mound of dirty snow lies in the street in between cars in New York on Tuesday. The mountains of snow may finally be melting away from New York City streets after more than a month of waist-high drifts but now there are new problems: pot holes, garbage piles 5 feet tall and black mounds of filthy, oozing refuse that no one wants to deal with. - photo by Associated Press

Snow Surprises Heal WEB — A mound of dirty snow lies in the street in between cars in New York on Tuesday. The mountains of snow may finally be melting away from New York City streets after more than a month of waist-high drifts but now there are new problems: pot holes, garbage piles 5 feet tall and black mounds of filthy, oozing refuse that no one wants to deal with. - photo by Associated Press

NEW YORK - The mountains of snow that have covered the Northeastern landscape for the past month and a half are finally melting, revealing oozing lumps of garbage, gaping potholes, bicycles, rat-infested sofas, discarded Christmas trees - even bodies. More than 57 inches of snow has fallen on New York City this winter, its snowiest January ever, and the story is similar elsewhere around the Northeast. Residents welcomed warmer weather this week before an expected plunge back into the freezer, but they weren't so thrilled about the side effects.

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