Less than a month after a blizzard crippled the city, a winter storm watch is in effect for the five boroughs – with meteorologists forecasting that the city could get between five to nine inches in this latest blast of winter.

The snow started falling shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday in most parts of the city.

NY1 meteorologists estimate that most of the boroughs will receive less than a foot of snow, but parts of Queens and Brooklyn could get higher totals.

A decision about closing of public schools will be made at 5 a.m. Wednesday. Parents should call 311 with any questions.

The Sanitation Department has declared a snow alert effective through Wednesday.

Alternate side parking, parking meter rules and garbage collection have all been suspended.

The public is warned by the Office of Emergency Management to avoid driving during the storm, and cars that block plows will be towed.

“This Weather Emergency Declaration asks New Yorkers to simply keep their cars parked. No matter where your car is – a main road, a smaller road, or in front of a meter – please don’t drive unless you absolutely have to,” said OEM official Chris Gilbride in a statement.

This storm comes only a few weeks after a blizzard dropped more than two feet of snow, stalling mass transit, trapping ambulances and fire trucks, and closing local airports.

At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the deputy mayor would be holding a conference call with the leaders of various agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to discuss issues like suspension of street cleaning and declaring a snow emergency.

The mayor says 365 salt spreaders and 1,700 snow plows are in place and ready to implement the city's new 15-point plan for quick snow removal.

He warned that Wednesday's morning rush is not going to be easy, given that the hardest snow is supposed to come just a few hours before the commute – making it impossible for all of the city's 6,000 streets to be cleared before then.

While the city says it's ready for the storm, some New Yorkers say they're not so sure.

Residents in Queens were trying to get a head start on the cleaning -- with some already shoveling and salting.

In Kew Gardens, they were outside clearing as many flakes as they could late Tuesday night.

Residents who spoke with NY1 say seeing plow trucks on the road already is a welcome sight.

"Mayor Mike is going to be watching, that's for sure. He's gonna be watching from his bedroom probably," said one Kew Gardens resident.

In Brooklyn, where last month's storm hit the hardest, the flakes were sticking quickly Tuesday night.

With some neighborhoods waiting days to see a plow, residents say the city has to redeem itself and are sure sanitation crews will be out in full force this time.

"I think they are going to be out with toothbrushes this time," said one Brooklyn resident.

"I think they are going to do a lot better on this storm. The last storm was just a disaster. They really weren't paying attention to what was going on," said another.

In anticipation of the storm, a few schools have already announced they will be closed. A full list of all school closings can be found below.

The mayor said that the Department of Aging would be delivering two meals to meal recipients Tuesday just in case a meal cannot be delivered on Wednesday.

The city will get a chance to roll out aspects of its new snow action plan – a plan that was unveiled at Monday's City Council hearing into last month's blizzard response and will be overseen by the Office of Emergency Management.

It calls for changes to the way the city declares snow emergencies, putting GPS devices on every plow, changing the way 911 operators deal with an influx of calls and dispatching scout teams to monitor conditions.

“When things go wrong, you can never have enough empathy. I think that the people who serve this city have an enormous amount of empathy, they try very hard, they work very hard,” said the mayor. “I've always been proud to work with them, to be one of them, and you can sit there and you can I'm sorry or you can pick up a shovel and get to work."

The mayor said the city is bringing in 200 additional pieces of equipment from private contractors. Laborers will manually be shoveling snow at vital intersections.

"I think tomorrow morning, as the mayor said, tomorrow morning's rush hour is going to be difficult,” said DOS Commissioner John Doherty. “I think, unfortunately, there will be some streets that haven't been plowed by the time you wake up and get out to go to work. We'll see what happens during the course of the day and what the conditions are tonight and how well we do.”

Once again, Bloomberg urged New Yorkers with snow problems to call 311 and not 911.

He also asked New Yorkers to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.

Transit System Begins Storm Preparations

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said the agency began preparing Monday for the storm.

MTA head Jay Walder acknowledged that the agency was too slow to react last month and that command centers have been strengthened to improve coordination and response times.

A customer advocate will be stationed at command centers.

Normal service was expected through Tuesday night's rush, with changes possible as the storm nears. Express trains are expected to stop at local stops and buses are expected to be delayed.

"We recognize the importance of public transportation, especially when conditions on the road are difficult," said Walder. "But doing this safety means services could be suspended to avoid stuck trains an busses. In the unlikely event that we do have customers stuck on a train for an extended period, we have new plans in place to ensure we communicate with customer and provide them whatever support we can."

Metro-North Railroad will be on a reduced schedule Wednesday and after Tuesday evening there will be no Long Island Rail Road service east of Speonk or Ronkonkoma. LIRR stations' waiting rooms will be open for all of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Access-A-Ride and Able-Ride services are suspended for Wednesday, except for necessary medical appointments.

Check mta.info for the latest service announcements.

During last month's storm, three A trains were stuck in Queens for as long as seven hours. Other train lines in Brooklyn were out of service for several days.

The MTA is not the only transportation agency looking ahead to Wednesday's storm. New Jersey Transit announced that it will offer full, system-wide cross-honoring starting at 7 o'clock Tuesday and continue all day Wednesday.

However, the agency says as of now, it plans to operate its trains on a regular weekday schedule Wednesday. Trains may be subject to slower boarding and slightly longer station stops.

NJ Transit says it will also offer extended station hours at all rail stations throughout the storm.

The New York State Thruway is also closed to tandem trucks between New York City and Schenectady.

Meanwhile, airlines are preparing for the coming snow, issuing warning of delays and cancellations and waiving fees for customers who want to change their reservations.

United, Continental, American, Delta and JetBlue say customers who are scheduled to fly in or out of area airports today through Thursday may choose to work around the storm and rebook their flights without paying the usual fees.

There are deadlines to rebook without penalty, so check with your airline.