Downtown Stamford at three in the morning during a storm belongs to almost nobody — the lights along Bedford Street, the snow filling the paths through Mill River Park, and one plow working an empty lot end to end. J & M Preferred Services takes that shift on purpose, because a lot cleared at three is a lot people can park in at seven. Rows pushed to the same corner every time so the piles don't eat the spaces, walkways and entries shoveled out, ice treated before the refreeze locks it down. Storms here often begin wet and finish hard, which makes the timing of the return trip the actual work. By sunrise the pavement is showing again and the city goes about its business.