Snow Plow Professionals Wait for White Gold

Business could be booming for professional snow plow operations and small indie plowers if winter hits hard on the North Fork this year. And with and by the end the week, things are looking good.

"I know they call it white gold, but it's really blood money," said Chris Mohr of Chris Mohr Landscaping in Southold. Mohr said he is looking forward to a winter of snow plowing during the downtime in his landscaping business. Mohr had one blizzard down and more snow on the way this week as weather reports predicted another five to eight inches of snow for Long Island on Friday and Saturday.

"It is blood money," agreed Chet Ciaglo of in Peconic, who also drives plow this time of year. "You work hard for the money."

Ciaglo and his 16-man crew were out three days straight beginning on Sunday morning when the holiday blizzard hit on Dec. 26.

"We were working until Wednesday," Ciaglo said. "On a scale of one to 10, I would rate the storm a seven."

Ciaglo based his rating on the high winds that pounded the area for nearly 72 hours rather than on the snow fall accumulation, which averaged about eight inches on the North Fork.

"If this storm had been a hurricane, it would have been a category, two according to the weather service," Ciaglo said. "People were clocking winds up to 80 mph in Orient."

"The drifting was a problem," he said. "You had to keep plowing to keep driveways and parking lots clear. Many side streets and private driveways were blocked by the snow that piled up as town and county road crews attempted to keep major roads clear and open to traffic.

"Everyone wants to get out the minute it stops snowing," Mohr said. "No one wants to stay in the house and wait around all day before they get plowed out."

Large scale operators like Mohr and Ciaglo are accustomed to working 24-7 when the snow starts to fall. Both men handle commercial accounts and cater to their regular residential customers most of whom sign contracts with them to plow their driveways during the winter. It is hard to get plowed-out during the peak of a storm unless you are already signed on as a regular customer.

"The commercial customers want you there to plow no matter what the accumulation and they don't cancel," Mohr said.

Mohr handles supermarkets including thestores in Cutchogue and Riverhead and plows out the parking lots for several banks. Ciaglo keeps the parking lots clear at the 7-Eleven stores in Southold and Cutchogue. Both men have been plowing snow in conjunction with their landscaping businesses for 15 years.

Last year, according to Mohr, a lot of homeowners canceled their contracts halfway through the season as their bills began to pile up along with the eight snow storms that hit the North Fork. Mohr charges $55 for every six inches of snow accumulation and will continue to plow your driveway as the snow falls.

"If we plow 20 inches, the bill is usually $150," he said. The basic charge is $55 to $65 according to Mohr. Senior citizens, particularly those getting like to be plowed and rarely cancel. Many seniors want to be plowed as soon as two inches of snow accumulates. Homeowners who are away for the winter are willing to wait for service until it stops snowing. Many opt to have their driveways plowed throughout the winter even though they are not here so their driveways remain open and accessible to fuel oil delivery trucks and other service vehicles. Some home owners cut back on service if snow fall is light.

"We are starting to see winters come back," Ciaglo said. "It is snowing more now."

Both men read the Farmer's Almanac for snow fall predictions and follow the weather closely. Ciaglo recalls the winters of the 1970s and 80s which he describes as harsh in comparison to some of the milder years in the 1990s, when temperatures sometimes hit 55 degrees in the middle of January and snow fall was nearly non-existent.

"We got a lot of snow in December 1995 and January 1996," he recalled. "Then the winters died down again."

"I have to pay for my snow insurance in August, so I have to decide in the summer if I am going to be in the plowing business in the winter," Mohr said.

Both men carry insurance on their equipment and carry workman's comp for their crews. Mohr's insurance bill for the four-month season comes to $15,000. Mohr does not get that money back if it doesn't snow.

"I'm running this like a business and I have to make a commitment," he said. "Things have changed a lot in the last 12 years. This is not like the old days when we charged $25 to plow a driveway."

"I'm paying $60,000 a year for insurance," Ciaglo said, noting his total bill included coverage for workers comp, equipment and arborist work as well as his snow removal operation.

When a storm hits, Mohr mobilizes an 18-man crew and sends out eight trucks equipped with snow plows, two commercial sanders, two pay loaders, four skid steers and six snow blowers. A few men hang back and wait for the snow to stop before they go out and plow driveways where homeowners are out-of-town and can wait for service.

Mohr worked 28 hours non-stop during the

"I was out there with the guys the whole time," he said.

Mohr and Ciaglo were joined by a host of independent operators who also hit the roads in search of white gold when the blizzard hit. Many of these operators get business by word of mouth as they make their way around a neighborhood where driveways haven't been plowed.  They usually have a small plow that can be attached to their pick-up truck. Others hit the streets with snow blowers for hire or go out to aid their neighbors. Some have a list of regular customers.

Jane Welz, a Southold resident was happy as she surveyed her driveway after the holiday storm. But she said she is not worried this week. She knows she will not be scrambling to get plowed out at the last-minute because she doesn't have a contract with a plowing company.

"My neighbor on the farm across the street is so nice," she said. "He comes over and plows me out for free."