The City of Bridgeport apologized to a disabled veteran Sunday, saying he should not have had to wait three days for snowplows to clear the area in front of his home.
Senior citizen Willie Wade and his wife Edwarda, who are both retired, live on Yarrington Court on the East End.
Wade, a Bridgeport firefighter for 20 years and a retired Navy veteran, is disabled and cannot get around without a wheelchair.
The couple says that ever since last week’s blizzard, they have been stranded.
They say long before the storm, they had complained about illegally parked cars, but the city never towed them. Those vehicles kept the plows from clearing away the snow by their property.
"I pay my taxes, I pay my dues, I respect the people on the street, but this is a lack of respect right here,” says Wade.
The couple says the result is a lack of safety, because during an emergency, a snowed-in disabled person at the end of a dead-end street would not have a clear path to safety.
To make matters worse, Edwarda Wade says she called the city for days to report the situation, but nobody took action.
When News 12 Connecticut reported the situation to Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim Sunday morning, the problem was fixed within a matter of hours. The city also issued a formal apology, and the retired couple says they now feel safe.
City officials say, "On whole, our crews have done an excellent job dealing with the cleanup. We will investigate how this delay took place and work to prevent any such breakdown in communication going forward."