This time five years ago, the city was struggling to dig out from under a paralyzing blizzard. It was so bad, even the snow plows got stuck. A record 27.5 inches of snow fell in Central Park, but some sections of the city had even more.

In Queens, which was especially hard hit, they still talk about it.

From her doorstep in Middle Village, Queens, Tess Vannata watched a sanitation worker struggle to free his plow from the snow. A historic storm dumped nearly three feet in parts of the city, bringing much of New York's hustle and bustle to a standstill.

She said the sanitation worker was stuck for hours in the middle of 84th Street. She remembers her neighbors pitching in, after several fruitless calls to 311.
 
“We helped him shovel, we offered him the restroom and some food to eat and a place to stay warm," said Vannata.

But there was just so much snow. The longer the plow was stuck, the more Vannata and her neighbors began to worry. What if someone needed help in an emergency?

She called NY1 and finally the city sent bulldozers to dig out the plow.

But most of the snow was dumped in front of her home.
 
“What was three feet of snow turned out to be somewhere of at least 10 feet of snow which made it difficult for me to get my car out for weeks actually.”
 
Vannata says she documented the storm because she thought it would be a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Many New Yorkers, especially in Queens, were frustrated by the city’s response.

Don Riepe, who lives in low lying Broad Channel, says his community of small streets not only had to deal with the snow, but also high tide. A half foot of water collected in his basement.

 “It moves the snow around or in some cases it helps cause it melts it too but then when it freezes and you have more snow fall on it, it becomes a problem”

The city blamed all the narrow, curvy and dead-end streets in Queens for its uneven response.

All those unusual streets made access for snowplows more difficult.

After the storm, the sanitation department bought a fleet of small haulster plows, which can navigate narrow streets more easily.

But it likely will be a while before another storm like the Blizzard of '16 puts the small plows and Queens to the ultimate test.