NYC: Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

The photo to the left is what I miss most about snow in NYC: walking in Central Park in freshly fallen snow. You New Yorkers are lucky...waking up to all that whiteness! Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

As New Yorkers begin to dig themselves out from yesterday's blizzard that dumped nearly 11 inches on Manhattan, Mayor Bloomberg said the city’s snow-covered streets will be cleared by this evening and schools will be open tomorrow.

“There may be some flurries still falling, but the accumulations, we think, are basically over. Today our focus is first on clearing the highways, then the bus routes and then the other 6,000 miles of city streets,” the mayor said, speaking at a Sanitation garage on Sunday morning. “All of us working together, we will get through this and by tomorrow morning we would think we’ll be in pretty good shape.”

The snow hit the boroughs in wildly varying amounts: While parts of Queens got a foot of powder, the Bronx survived with only 6 inches, the mayor said. 11 inches of snowfall were recorded in Central Park.

SEE PHOTOS of NY SNOW STORM

Meanwhile, across the mid-Atlantic, the blizzard dropped 16 inches of snow on Reagan National Airport outside Washington on Saturday — the most ever recorded there for a single December day — and gave southern New Jersey its highest single-storm snowfall totals in nearly four years. Some of the deepest was recorded in the Philadelphia suburb of Medford, N.J., at 24 inches.

Around New York City, the brunt of the storm hit Long Island, with blizzard conditions. Nearly 25 inches were recorded in Upton. Crews clearing roads early Sunday reported whiteout conditions, said Lt. Robert P. Iberger of the Southampton police.

Near Farmingdale, N.Y., about 150 people were stranded on a Long Island Rail Road train for more than five hours by a combination of snow drifts, icing, traffic problems and equipment failures due to the weather. Railroad spokeswoman Susan McGowan says LIRR is offering only limited service, and delays are averaging two hours.

At least five deaths across the mid-Atlantic were reportedly caused by the blizzard. But, the mayor said the NYPD and FDNY reported no major accidents caused by the storm in the city.

The mayor also announced that alternate-side parking regulations and all garbage pickup will be canceled on Monday.

Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty said he would try to resume garbage and recycling pickup Tuesday and crews would do extra duty so residents with Monday pickup wouldn’t have to wait until next week for recycling collection.

Doherty said his crews would focus on clearing secondary and tertiary streets tonight, as well as opening up paths around schools.

The commissioner said he will have 2,500 workers with 365 salt spreads and more than 1,500 plows operating this evening.

Now that the storm has moved north, the mayor encouraged New Yorkers to enjoy the winter wonderland.

“On a lighter note, the Parks Department has declared a snow day," he said. "Hills around the city are open for sledding, snow making and more.”

“For those who are looking for a white Christmas, this certainly will stick around for Christmastime,” National Weather Service meteorologist Bruce Sullivan told AP Radio.

Blizzard warnings are still in effect for parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts with gusts up to 60 mph. As much as 16 inches of snow was expected to cover parts of southern New England.