Zohran Mamdani declares NYC emergency, bans all travel during blizzard threatening city

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a city-wide travel ban ahead of an expected blizzard on Sunday.

Mamdani held a press conference to announce he was declaring a state of emergency ahead of the winter storm, saying all city streets, highways and bridges will be closed to non-emergency traffic starting at 9 p.m. Sunday and remaining in effect until noon Monday.

The blanket restriction applies to all vehicles, including cars, trucks, scooters and e-bikes, with narrow exemptions granted only for essential emergency movements and critical service workers.

Millions across the Northeast are under blizzard warnings as a powerful bomb cyclone prepares to dump up to 2 feet of snow along the I-95 corridor. Experts have warned residents to expect 60 mph wind gusts, and widespread power outages as the historic storm intensifies through Sunday night.

CHRIS CHRISTIE SLAMS MAMDANI OVER HANDLING OF NEW YORK CITY SNOWSTORM, GARBAGE ‘PILED UP EVERYWHERE’

Major airports across the Northeast — including John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport — are experiencing widespread shutdowns. At JFK, 82% of Monday’s flights have been canceled, while LaGuardia has scrapped 91% and Boston Logan has canceled 86%.

As of 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, 8,858 U.S. flights had been canceled and another 5,196 delayed. In total, more than 14,000 U.S. flights have been disrupted.

New York City, Boston and Philadelphia are all projected to receive between 18 and 24 inches of snow.

The nation’s capital is forecast to receive 2 to 5 inches of snow, while Baltimore could see between 5 and 10 inches.

MICHAEL RAPAPORT BLASTS NYC AS ‘DIRTY SNOW COVERED DUMP’ AS CELEBS CALL OUT MAYOR MAMDANI OVER SLOW CLEANUP

Blizzard warnings are currently in place for more than 40 million Americans.

New York City on Saturday put out a call for emergency snow shovelers ahead of the storm.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a State of Emergency for New York City, and Mamdani announced outreach teams have been mobilized.

FIRST ON FOX: FEMA UNLEASHES $2.2B IN DISASTER RELIEF FUNDING ACROSS 25 STATES: ‘CUTTING RED TAPE’

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) announced Saturday it is recruiting temporary, per diem shovelers to remove snow and ice from public areas, including bus stops, crosswalks, fire hydrants and step streets.

Snow in Prospect Park in Brooklyn on Jan. 17, 2026. (Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

While pay is generous, starting at $19.14 per hour and increasing to $28.71 per hour after the first 40 hours worked in a week, workers must meet a number of requirements to be eligible.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Shovelers must be at least 18 years old, able to perform heavy physical labor and eligible to work in the U.S., according to the department.

Fox News’ Mike Rawlins and Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.