Queens residents play in the snow
following largest storm in years
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
The first significant snowstorm
in four years barreled
down on Queens overnight,
blanketing the borough with
anywhere between 6 to 10
inches of snow on Wednesday,
Dec. 16.
Kids and adults alike ventured
out to Juniper Valley
Park the following morning to
enjoy the winter wonderland
by riding sleds down a small
hill, building snowmen and
having snowball fights.
For some kids, the storm
was the first time they had
ever experienced snow, and
they weren’t quite sure what
to make of the white, cold
blanket yet.
Adriana, who lives near
the park, had brought her two
children, including 6-monthold
Lincoln.
She had spent many winters
in the park and felt nostalgic
about bringing her kids
there for the first time.
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.22 COM | DEC. 25-DEC. 31, 2020
“He was like, what is this?
It is cold,” she said. “But we
couldn’t keep them holed up
anymore. They were banging
at the windows all night last
night and this morning.”
Locals Jamie and Brandon
had brought their pooch Bee,
a mini Australian shepherd,
to the park. The pup seemed to
have the best time.
“I love it,” Jamie said. “I’m
a big fan of snow.”
While New York City public
school students were stuck
at home, in school remotely
instead of enjoying a snow
day, some Catholic school students
were out and about. Tenyear
old Oliver, his 7-year-old
brother Gavin and their parents
were excited and glad to
have a day off from school.
Both of the kids wanted more
snow.
However, for some of the
adults, the snowstorm was not
as much fun.
Josef had been shoveling
the sidewalks for two hours
Thursday morning, despite
having taken the precautionary
measure of spreading salt
the night before to make snow
removal easier.
Andrew and Danny had
spent an hour digging out
their car this morning.
“My back is already hurting,”
Andrew said.
The first major snowstorm
of the season saw up to 10
inches fall around LaGuardia
Airport and around 7 inches
fall near JFK International
Airport.
Wednesday night’s storm
was the biggest December
snowfall in New York City
since 2009.
Queens saw around 10 inches of snow on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. Photos by Gabriele Holtermann