De Blasio sign language interpreter takes center stage during blizzard press conferences (VIDEO)

Gary Wiepert/AP Photo

Annabella Hopkins of Cheektowaga, New York, peels over a snowbank piled high at the intersection on Nov. 20, 2014. The corner of Borden Road and Woodside has been staging ground for National News media outlets filing reports on the storms that have dumped more than 5 feet of snow on western New York.

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A convoy of New York State officials and National Guard troops drive through snow covered streets of Buffalo, New York on Nov. 20, 2014.

Carolyn Thompson/AP Photo

A 4-foot fence and SUV are nearly buried along a street in Buffalo, New York on Nov. 18, 2014.

Gary Wiepert/AP Photo

A vehicle, with a large chunk of snow on it's top, drives along Route 20 after digging out after a massive snow fall (with over 5' 3'') in Lancaster, New York on Nov. 19, 2014. A whirlpool of frigid, dense air known as a "polar vortex" descended Tuesday into much of the Northeastern U.S.

Mike Groll/AP Photo

Buried under inches of snow, cars are covered from the massive snowstorm that pounded Buffalo, New York on Nov. 20, 2014.

Mark Mulville/AP Photo

A house in Alden, New York was left completely destroyed a snowstorm swept through the city.

Justin Sorensen/AP Photo

Plows were out in force during the lake effect snow on Factory Street in Watertown, New York on Nov. 19, 2014.

Derek Gee/AP Photo

Several feet of lake-effect snow paralyzed the Buffalo area, forcing state troopers to deliver blankets and other supplies to motorists stranded on the New York State Thruway and adding an ominous note to a wintry season that’s already snarling travel and numbing fingers from the Midwest to the Carolinas.

Gary Wiepert/AP Photo

A New York State Snowgrader moves snow on Broadway in Lancaster, New York on Nov. 19, 2014.

Gary Wieper/AP Photo

Kurt Almond uses a snowblower to clear his driveway for his wife that needs to get to work in East Aurora, New York on Nov. 20, 2014.

Gary Wiepert/AP Photo

Neighbors band together for a supply run of groceries (beer) and gas to help them dig out after a massive snow fall in Lancaster, New York on Nov. 19, 2014.

Derek Gee/AP Photo

A man shovels his way out of his home on Nov. 19, 2014 in Depew, New York after getting almost 6 feet of snow. With another lake-effect storm expected to bring 2 to 3 more feet by late Thursday, Nov. 20, there will be lots more to shovel!

MARK BLINCH/Reuters

The inside of a car is pictured filled with snow, in a parking lot where authorities have left abandoned cars found from the freeway, that were left behind during a massive snow storm in Cheektowaga, New York on Nov. 23, 2014. Warm temperatures and rain were forecast for the weekend in the city of Buffalo and western New York, bringing the threat of widespread flooding to the region bound for days by deep snow.

Joel Bissell/AP Photo

Gabriel Ellis throws a snowball at Lukas Schroeder as he plays the tuba on the Grand Valley State University campus, in Allendale, Michigan on Nov. 18, 2014.

Carolyn Thompson/AP Photo

Snow covers a street at daybreak in South Buffalo, New York on Nov. 17, 2014, as officials seek help from a neighboring county in their efforts to clear roads and provide emergency services during the snowstorm that has buried sections of Western New York in more than 5 feet of snow.

John Normile/Getty Images

Tami Normile and Richard Brooks attempt to remove some of the five feet of snow from a roof top on Nov. 20, 2014 in the Lakeview neighborhood of Buffalo, New York. The record setting Lake effect snowstorm dumped up to six feet of snow in less than 24 hours closing a one hundred mile section of The New York State Thruway as well as other major roads around Buffalo.

AARON LYNETT/Reuters

A Buffalo resident shovels snow around her vehicle after the city was slammed with another foot of snow on Nov. 20, 2014, with possibly another 30 inches expected, according to meteorologists. Roofs began to creak and collapse under the weight of excessive snow as another storm added to epic snowfall in western New York state.

GARY WIEPERT/Reuters

A lake-effect snowstorm with freezing temperatures produced a wall of snow travelling over Lake Erie into Buffalo, New York on Nov. 18, 2014.

Gary Wiepert/AP Photo

Cars with snow atop the roofs sit idle at this home on Broadway in Lancaster, New York on Nov. 19, 2014. A ferocious storm dumped massive piles of snow on parts of upstate New York, trapping residents in their homes and stranding motorists on roadways, as temperatures in all 50 states fell to freezing or below.

Derek Gee/AP Photo

Jerry Delzer attempts to clear the snow in his driveway in Depew, New York on Nov. 18, 2014.

Derek Gee/AP Photo

Eric Dehond, left, and Dakota Paciorkowski help push out a stuck motorist on George Urban Boulevard in Depew, New York on Nov. 18, 2014.

Harry Scull Jr./AP Photo

A Buffalo resident removes snow from a car buried along Powers Road in Orchard Park, New York on Nov. 19, 2014.

STRINGER/Reuters

In what was about a years' worth of snow came in just three days ... leaving Trucks stranded on a closed New York State Thruway in Western New York on Nov. 20, 2014.

Bebeto Matthews/AP

A sign language intrepeter signs as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, center, hold a press conference surrounded by top city officials at the city's Office of Emergency Management, Monday, Jan. 26, 2015, in New York. De Blasio says streets will be closed to all but emergency vehicles starting at 11 p.m. Monday ahead of the expected 18 to 24 inches of snow. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Gary Wiepert/AP Photo

Bob Wilcox clears the snow at the end of his driveway on Bowen Rd. in Lancaster, New York on Nov. 19, 2014.

Derek Gee/AP Photo

A winter wonderland from above, but probably not down below for these residents! Hundreds of home are covered in snow in West Seneca, New York on Nov. 19, 2014 after being hit with over 5 inches of snow with more expected.

Mike Groll/AP Photo

Unable to drive in these conditions, local residents resort to walking on the street to get around on Nov. 20, 2014 in Buffalo, New York - after extreme lake-effect snow with over 5 feet!

AP Photo/Chrissy Hazard

Snow blew in the backdoor of Chrissy Hazard's home in Cheektowaga, New York on Nov. 18, 2014, after a ferocious snowstorm slammed the area with more than 5' 5'' of snow -- trapping people in their homes and on highways.

Harry Scull Jr./AP Photo

Local resident Chris Boettcher clears snow along Rt. 391 in Boston, N.Y on Nov. 18, 2014. Parts of New York measured the season's first big snowfall in feet, rather than inches, on Tuesday as 5 feet of lake-effect snow blanketed the Buffalo area and forced the closure of a 132-mile stretch of the state Thruway.

Gary Wiepert/AP Photo

Steve Corbett opens his window under snow drifts and greets his neighbor's dog on Nov. 19, 2014, on Central Ave in Lancaster, New York after getting over 5 feet of snow.

Patrick Bryne/AP Photo

No walkies today, little guy! Buffalo resident Patrick Bryne took this photo of his dog sniffing his front door which has been blocked with snow on Nov. 18, 2014. A lake-effect snowstorm dumped more than 5 feet of snow on the Buffalo area.

MARK BLINCH/Reuters

Water bubbles up from a storm drain causing a street to flood following a massive snow storm in West Seneca, New York on Nov. 24, 2014. Warm temperatures and rain were forecast for the weekend in the city of Buffalo and western New York, bringing the threat of widespread flooding to the region bound for days by deep snow.

MARK BLINCH/Reuters

The national guard dumps sandbags to prepare for flooding following a massive snowstorm in Williamsville, New York on Nov. 23, 2014.

Derek Gee/AP Photo

Buffalo Police block traffic on Bailey Avenue at the intersection with Clinton Street as heavy equipment clears snow on Nov. 18, 2014.

Gary Wiepert/AP Photo

Firefighters from Cheektowaga and Depew carry a patient from Garden Gate Health Care Facility to the Appletree Mall in Cheektowaga, New York on Nov. 20, 2014. About 180 patients from the facility were moved after officials questioned sustainability of the roof from the snowfall.

Gary Wiepert/AP Photo

A freight train plows its way past the Cemetery Rd. overpass in Lancaster, New York on Nov. 19, 2014.

Derek Gee/AP Photo

Cars and trucks make their way through South Buffalo, New York on Nov. 19, 2014 after finding itself buried under as much as 5' 6'' with more expected to come on Nov. 20, 2014.

Zach Gibson/AP Photo

Airman Apprentice Franklen Garett makes a snow angel during Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Nov. 17, 2014. Lake-effect storms in Michigan produced gale-force winds and as much as 18 inches of snow, and canceled several flights at the Grand Rapids airport.

John Normile/Getty Images

Sydney, a six year old Golden retriever, makes her way through five feet of snow from a driveway on Nov. 20, 2014 in the suburb of Lakeview, Buffalo, New York. The record setting lake-effect snowstorm dumped up to six feet of snow in less than 24 hours closing a one hundred mile section of The New York State Thruway as well as other major roads around Buffalo.

Todd Maisel/New York Daily News

New Yorkers get ready for snow storm. Mayor Bill de Blasio talks about the upcoming storm at the OEM office in Brooklyn. January 26, 2015 (by Todd Maisel, New York Daily News)snow

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Lydia Callis drew praise for her sign language intepretations for then-Mayor Bloomberg

AARON LYNETT/Reuters

Heavy machinery clears snow from a street following an autumn storm in Buffalo, New York on Nov. 20, 2014.

Gary Wiepert/AP Photo

Lake-effect snowstorm with freezing temperatures affected travel, like this plane that negotiated its way through the snow at Buffalo Greater International Airport, in Buffalo, New York on Nov. 18, 2014. Temperatures fell to freezing or below at recording stations in all 50 states on Tuesday morning, from the highest elevations in the mountains of Hawaii to the snow-paralyzed Buffalo area in New York.