New York City is bracing for what Mayor Zohran Mamdani says could be the most significant snowfall in nearly a decade. After the last so called “Snowpocalypse” left mountains of grimy snow sitting on city streets for weeks, the pressure is on City Hall to get it right this time.
So what is the plan?
Ask New Yorkers to grab a shovel and help out. Fair enough. But here is the twist that has people shaking their heads. If you want to sign up as a paid emergency snow shoveler, you have to present multiple forms of identification.
During a Saturday press conference, Mamdani urged residents to pitch in. “For those who want to do more to help their neighbors and earn some extra cash, you too can become an emergency snow shoveler,” he said. “Just show up at your local sanitation garage between 8 am and 1 pm tomorrow with your paperwork.”
The Department of Sanitation says shovelers will earn $19.14 per hour, with overtime at $28.71 after 40 hours. Not bad for moving snow. The catch is that applicants must provide more than one form of ID in order to qualify. According to city guidelines, proper documentation is required before anyone can be paid.
Predictably, critics pointed out the irony. For years, many Democrats have argued that requiring identification to vote amounts to modern day voter suppression. Some have even compared voter ID laws to “Jim Crow 2.0.” Yet in New York City, if you want to shovel snow and earn $19 an hour, you need to show paperwork.
Mamdani defended the requirement, citing federal law. “Federal law requires that employers get authorization and documentation to pay people for their work. We are not allowed to just cut checks to individuals for their work,” he said.
That explanation is technically correct. Employers must verify identity and work authorization under federal law. But the broader point critics are making is about consistency. If identification is reasonable to verify employment eligibility and prevent fraud in payroll, why is it automatically unreasonable when applied to protecting the integrity of elections?
The mayor insists this is simply about compliance, not politics. Still, the optics are hard to ignore. After weeks of criticism over the city’s slow response to the last major storm, Mamdani is asking residents to help clean up the streets. At the same time, the city is enforcing documentation standards that mirror the very safeguards some in his party resist in other contexts.
As another blizzard approaches and potentially two feet of snow looms, New Yorkers will soon see whether this revamped plan works. In the meantime, anyone hoping to cash in on snow duty might want to double check their wallet. In this city, even a shovel comes with paperwork.