Anger is mounting in New York and New Jersey over the slow pace of snow removal following the severe storms which brought the region to a halt.
Major thoroughfares in Manhattan have been cleared, but large parts of the city have yet to be ploughed.
Many residents are stuck in their homes unable to get to work, and piles of snow are hindering ambulances.
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn called the clean-up operation the worst in memory.
"We're hearing reports from all over of people not even having seen a plough by the afternoon of the day after," Ms Quinn told reporters. "This is a level of lack of clean-up that I really can't recall".
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has defended his administration's response to the blizzard, telling reporters that his staff are working as hard as they can and "doing everything we can think of".
The New York Times reported that over 200 ambulances had become stuck in streets left unploughed or blocked by abandoned cars.
Paramedics had to carry stretchers long distances, climbing over piles of snow, to reach sick residents.
The New York Times also reported that one woman with stroke symptoms waited six hours for a response, by which stage she was unresponsive, and a woman in labour waited over nine hours for help. By then, it was too late to save her baby.
Ms Quinn has announced that she will hold hearings to investigate problems with the clean-up.
In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie is under fire for taking a holiday at Disney World in central Florida while his state is reeling in the aftermath of the storm. BBC News
