SNOW MUCH FOR THAT: After City Shuts, It Avoids Blizzard’s Wrath Lucky to avoid the brunt of the storm, Queens residents enjoyed the snow day that resulted on Tuesday, Jan. 27. In the top left photo, Francesca and Deanna Fedkowskyj took time to build a snowman in Middle Village. Above is a picture from Karen Epstein of the snowfall on Linden Street in Ridgewood. Public schools were also closed Tuesday for just the 12th time in the last four decades. Major airline carriers cancelled most Tuesday flights out of Kennedy and LaGuardia airports. Gov. Andrew Cuomo also ordered the MTA to suspend all train and bus service region-wide at the same time Monday, the first time in the authority’s history such a closure was ordered for a winter storm. The MTA suspended operations previously during Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. By midnight, the only sound seemingly heard around the city—other than the wind—were Sanitation Department plows at work scraping the snow and ice off the pavement. Fortunately for most New York City dwellers, the blizzard did not strike as far west as predicted—and was spared paralyzing snowfall, coastal flooding and high winds experienced to the east. Soon after sunup Tuesday morning, efforts were underway to restore the city to normalcy. De Blasio lifted the city’s travel ban at 8 a.m. Tuesday, and an hour later, Cuomo announced the MTA would resume train and bus operations gradually during the day. By noon, all subways and buses were said to be running on limited, Sunday schedules, as they would for major holidays such as Thanksgiving. Full train and bus service was restored by the Wednesday morning commute. The Sanitation Department also announced on Wednesday limited resumption of garbage collection. Public parks reopened late Tuesday morning, allowing children home from school to head to their local green spaces for snowball fights and sledding. By the afternoon, the dig-out was well underway around the Times Newsweekly coverage area as homeowners shoveled sidewalks and drivers worked to free their vehicles from snowpiles. Main thoroughfares were plowed, salted and moving well, while side streets were plowed at least once. Along both Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village and Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood, shoppers surfaced from their homes to visit local businesses that were open; many shops, however, remained close the rest of the day. All in all, the city’s five boroughs got off quite easy compared to their neighbors to the east, as parts of Nassau and Suffolk counties were covered in two feet or more of snow. Coastal New England, meanwhile, was hammered with destructive storm surges and winds coupled with massive snowfall. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 1- After NewYork City was spared the brunt of Tuesday’s blizzard, residents took advantage of the day off by playing in the snow. This picture sent in by Jennifer Higgins-Tonns shows her family having fun at the corner of Metropolitan Avenue and 73rd Place in Middle Village. The Times Newsweekly thanks all our readers who submitted their pictures of the storm to our Facebook page. 11 • TIMES, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 ©Times Newsweekly - 2014 - ANTIQUES
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