NYC Lifts Travel Ban; Subway Service to Resume Shortly

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday morning that travel bans for the city and nearby areas in the Husdon Valley and Long Island were lifted effective 7:30am and that MTA service is expected to resume.

"Trains should be coming back at 9am," Cuomo said during a press conference. "By noon, service should be at Sunday service."

Officials noted that trains will likely remain at Sunday service level and should be back to normal weekday service Wednesday.

As the ban is lifted, all NYC streets are now open to non-emergency vehicles after being barred from the roads since 11pm Monday. Cuomo said his state travel ban would remain in effect for Suffolk County on eastern Long Island and the governor noted LIRR train service could continue to be suspended.

The city basically got lucky and we're looking at what the meteorologist we talked to described as the best case scenario. Cuomo said the NYC area received significantly less snow than forecasted at 4in to 6in, LaGuardia Airport received about 11in, and Eastern parts of Long Island got 16in -- with more expected Tuesday. "Suffolk County is where we have serious issues and continue to have blizzard-like conditions," he said.

Tony Merevick is Cities News Editor at Thrillist and has a feeling he might be able to make it into the office today if the trains are back in service. Follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick.