Village parents make first
snowstorm an unofficial
snow day for children
Children enjoy sledding in Stuyvesant Town.
BY DEAN MOSES
From the COVID-19 virus
that has left over 24,000
New Yorkers dead and
countless more out of work to
the Black Lives Matter protests
which have created a larger
disconnect between the NYPD
and communities of color after
violent clashes, 2020 will go
down in the history books as an
unprecedented year.
Small businesses have struggled,
schools have been a revolving
door of closures and openings,
and terms such as social distancing
have entered our lexicon.
After all of this, after almost a
year of self-isolating and working
from home and through Zoom,
New Yorkers emerged on Dec.
17to revel in what marked the
fi rst snowstorm of the pandemic.
Although snow days arenot
technically in effect due to students
learning remotely, parents
decided to play mayor themselves
on Dec. 17 by dubbing it a snow
day, amending de Blasio’s offi cial
verdict. Many young scholars
were given loose deadlines for the
day, allowing families to come together
in a way they have not been
able to for nine months. Since the
Snowball fights were the game of the day.
early morning, snowballs fl ew
through the air, children roared
with laughter as they whizzed
down carpeted white embankments,
snowmen popped up all
over the city, and just for one day,
it was 2019 again.
The decision to kick back and
enjoy the blizzard’s aftermath
was not clear cut for everybody,
though. Sarita Ekya, owner of
Sarita’s Macaroni & Cheese
(S’MAC) and Stuyvesant Town
resident, was apprehensive about
her two children missing even
more school this year, ultimately,
she decided they all needed this
time together.
“As soon as we found out
there was going to be snow, my
husband looked at me and said:
‘Snow day?’ I was like, ‘Should
we?’ Schools are not closed but I
was also told there was not going
to be any new work, so once we
saw that I knew what we were doing.
I emailed our third grader’s
teacher and was like ‘Listen, I am
going to be frank, we are doing a
snow day because it has been one
of those years,’” Ekya said.
Like Ekya, Mira Espinal also
basked in a brief moment with her
daughter. She has felt the wrath of
2020 in a very harsh way after her
husband was let go from his job.
“Luckily I still have a job, we
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES Emily Espinal kicked up some snow.
make ends meet, our family is
healthy—that is most important,”
A young girl carries a pile of
snow.
Espinal said, sharing that
her 10-year-old daughter, Emily,
was given permission from her
teacher to take a step back from
the computer screen and enjoy
the snow.
“It feels good to play in the
snow!” Emily yelled, kicking up
a fl urry.
The day wasn’t all fun and
games for everybody, though.
Many business owners spent the
morning shoveling the sidewalk
in the frigid temperatures, hoping
to make way for potential customers.
City workers also spent hours
with trowels in hand, while others
manned snowplows, ensuring safe
passage for citizens to get around.
An almost audible sigh of relief
could be felt by New York City as
the cries of laughter once again
rang out between the ice ridden skyscrapers,
a sound that has become
foreign to many here. Perhaps the
bright, white snow marks the light
at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel
as we approach the New Year.
Union Square Park is filled w A street cleaner makes way on Union Square. ith a blanket of snow.
4 December 24, 2020 Schneps Media