Five days after New York City was buried in nearly a foot of snow, a frigid sense of despair has fallen over the five boroughs.

Mounds of snowpack — once a lovely white but now a dingy gray and yellow — continue to block crosswalks and bike lanes across town. Many of the sidewalks that are shoveled have narrow paths that force pedestrians to squeeze into single-file lines. Piles of trash and recycling amassed on some streets as the sanitation department reported delays in collections.

There is no end in sight to the misery. The National Weather Service forecasts at least another week of below-freezing temperatures. Help by way of a thaw is not on the way.