Apparently melting snow this way has been a thing for 20 years

New York City's sanitation department has deployed massive hot tubs to melt up to 160 tons of snow per hour in an effort to clear streets and sidewalks following a heavy blizzard. The city has eight of these snow-melting machines in operation, with sanitation workers feeding them snow from collection sites. Acting Sanitation Commissioner Javier Lojan emphasized the urgency of melting the snow, as it is not expected to disappear soon. The city has also hired 500 temporary snow shovelers to assist in clearing sidewalks and bus stops.