Battling the blizzard of '96.

The staggering snowfall last week caused numerous problems for building owners, who had to cope with the fluffy white stuff and its attendant challenges. Awning collapses, roof collapses, water main breaks and hurtling spear-like icicles caused difficulties in the region. Firefighters were hampered by plowed-in hydrants and urged owners to ensure they were kept clear of snow and ice.

Frozen outdoor trains and a deficiency of buses delayed the arrival of essential management staff, even while service employees arrived early to walk picket lines.

Strikers admitted to reporters they were supposed to stop those attempting snow removal and scuffles ensued at several buildings, although violence was denounced by both sides.

One common sight was that of businessmen attired in shirts and ties shoveling away at the white mounds that quickly turned to grey towering mountains along all city streets.

While AREW carried on with the group's luncheon at the Grand Hyatt on Tuesday, the Young Mens/Young Women's Real Estate luncheon at the Rainbow Room was cancelled when speaker Donald J. Trump could not return to the city in time from Florida. That lunch was to take place today, Wednesday, January 17th instead.

Real estate executives reported most properties had at least paths cleared of snow and ice by Tuesday morning, although city officials said they would not start issuing tickets until Thursday of last week.

The Rent Stabilization Association's Frank Ricci said he came to work on Monday and the sidewalk at 123 William Street was kept clear. "I don't know how they did it," he said of Glenwood Management.

The Shorenstein-run building at 551 Fifth Avenue was operating with no problems and the sidewalks were cleared with a path to the subway on Sunday, reported attorney tenant David Parker, co-chair of the litigation department at Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff, & Cohen. P.C.

Bart McDade, vice president operations for Axiom Real Estate Management, said it was fortunate that on Sunday, when the snow first started falling, there were few people around. "We were able to get some roving crews out to handle the snowfall," he said. While the company's biggest problem was the porter strike, McDade said they easily obtained replacement crews.

With the sidewalks pretty much cleared, McDade's crews were turning to widening paths and clearing for further access. "It's normal and is what would happen after any storm," he said, even as the "Alberta clipper" was roaring through last Friday, dumping more inches on the stricken city.

Bruce Cohan, a spokesperson for the Grand Central and 34th Street Partnerships, said their people were out shoveling snow and would be getting some overtime. "They are doing street removal and are working a very long day," he said from his office, where he had walked earlier on Tuesday. "You can go shopping on 34th Street if any stores are open," he added.

Retailers, staggering from December's crummy sales, were reeling from the snow. Grocery stores were mobbed on Sunday until they ran out of essentials that were not replaced until days later. The area around Hunts Point Market was in gridlock as trucks waited their turns to be unloaded mid-week. Many truck drivers had been forced off the New Jersey Turnpike until it was re-opened on Wednesday.

Other city streets were hard to pass and even avenue traffic was reduced to a crawl, as sometimes only one lane was open to moving traffic.

Louis Romano, senior vice president of sales for Castle Oil, said his trucks were making deliveries but the going was slow. One problem was that fill pipes were covered with ice and snow.

"That frustrates the delivery and makes the drivers have to make duplicate attempts," he explained. "I find the superintendents by and large to be very cooperative. They are attempting to help us."

Romano said he had 46 trucks out in the middle of the snowstorm and that enabled them to keep up with most of their calls, although the trucks were often not allowed to stop to make the deliveries on one lane streets.

"I haven't been home since Sunday," he said on Thursday. "I don't know what 1947's blizzard was like, but Castle is doing its best. Our terminals are open seven days a week."

The Hutensky Group was able to take care of the snow accumulations at the French Meadows complex that consist of 400,000 square feet of retail and second floor medical offices, as well as 3,300 residential units managed by Kreisel.

They started Sunday morning before there were large accumulations. "The crews slept at the site and were out again working at 4 a.m.," said Dennis Renton, regional property manager for Hutensky, a Hartford-based company.

"We piled the snow in areas that wouldn't affect the parking as much as other areas," Renton said. "Ideally, we would like to be able to truck it off the lot. We are clearing wider paths, the stores are now open and waiting with baited breath for the next storms."

He said a number of roofs had been replaced over the years and luckily, they received no calls from tenants complaining about leaks. "A freeze-thaw has the worst effect," he explained.

McDade said Axion had the building managers check the roofs and make sure the snow was not going above the flashing and check for open windows in the offices. "We haven't had any bad experiences," he added.

This time of the year is the most destructive time, said Roy B. Klein, senior vice president of the Yates Group Limited, whose crews have been busy with other folks bad experiences. "The buckets are out all over," he said of his clients.

One problem is "ice damning," where at the perimeters of the roofs, water freezes and expands, blocking the flow of water. This combination of the freeze-thaw effect causes perimeter leaks.

The freeze-thaw puts pressure on down-spouts and gutters, as the snow melts into more compact water during the day, which then freezes overnight, expanding and causing damage to these roof parts. The water also seeps under flashing, and when it turns to ice, creates larger holes for more water to drip through.

"I might only occur once in three years, so you may find and repair the problem and you think you are great and then the same thing happens," sighed Klein. Last year, he noted, was easy on roofs. But not this one.

Now that the buckets are out, he said, owners should try to shovel off the snow, and where ice is on the roof membrane, try to carefully chop away ice and do a temporary repair.

"But to do any kind of repair, the area has to be dry," said Klein. "So you take a torch to melt it, but then you are melting down adjacent areas and it doesn't stick on the wet, so in some cases it gets worse. The water can get diverted to other places, you can cause holes in the roof and you have to know what you are doing. And the repair is only temporary. It is a very frustrating time."

Klein does not recommend putting salt or other chemical melting agents in gutters because they can cause auxiliary damage. Some owners use heat tracing, which is low voltage electrical wiring that is put in gutter areas to keep ice from forming. "There are tapes designed for those kinds of usage," said Klein, referring to some tapes that cannot get wet. In emergencies, his crews sometimes use a heat gun to melt the ice before clearing the downspouts and making a temporary repair.