BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Blizzard of '22 dropped more than 50 inches of snow, and 35 people in the City of Buffalo died. In total, 47 people across Western New York died during the blizzard. The storm caused more than $10 million in damage in Buffalo alone. Now, nearly two months since the blizzard, conversations continue inside Buffalo's City Hall.
"There's a number of moving things in regard to our preparedness," Council member David Rivera said.
Following weeks of blizzard discussions, the Niagara District councilman said they are taking steps in the right direction.
"It's front and center. Everybody's conscious now of our preparedness from our administration down to the common council," Rivera said.
Since the blizzard, Mayor Byron Brown's office released a blizzard report showing a timeline of storm response.
Buffalo's Common Council also recently approved two new positions, a fleet director and an emergency manager.
"I'm hoping that when the fleet manager does come that he or she is able to put together and pinpoint where we have strengths and where we have weaknesses with our fleet," Council member Joe Golombek said.
North District councilman said unfortunately the blizzard showed the city has 'antiquated' equipment in almost every department.
"I think it's going to boil down to the budget this year," Golombek said, "I'm anticipating that there will be a push for more newer and modern equipment."
Lovejoy District Council member Bryan Bollman is pushing for more warming shelters when disaster strikes.
SEE: Lessons from blizzard create push for additional warming shelters in Buffalo
"I want to keep an eye on all of these things as we're moving forward so we're better prepared for instances in the future," Bollman said.
Since the blizzard, the mayor also requested that NYU provide a review of the storm response. While research is still underway the school recently shared that, "Communicating with the public on a variety of platforms presents only a small marginal cost but potentially high payoff."
"I'm hoping that the school will come out and say here's where your strengths are here's where your weaknesses are here's how we can fix it," Golombek said.
The NYU report is expected to be released in March 2023.
