Tuesday, December 28, 2010

NYC's Blizzard of 2010


This is how my husband spent yesterday.....digging out from over two feet of snow that we received overnight the day before. The snow drifts were as high as three feet in some places as high winds also accompanied the storm.  New York City's response to snowstorms is usually quite excellent, and the Department of Sanitation begins plowing and salting the street immediately, but for some reason the response to this storm was very poor and as of today many of the streets have not been plowed at all. 
Neither my husband nor my daughter were able to take mass transit to work the past two days as there were no buses or trains running in both of our neighborhoods in Brooklyn, either yesterday or today. Totally unacceptable, as far as we are concerned! Luckily my husband's boss was understanding, sadly for my daughter, her boss was not.  Her boss, who lives in Manhattan and was easily able to travel to mid-town where the office is located, has no idea how impossible travel can be when mass transit is not working in the outer boroughs and the streets have not been plowed.

In Brooklyn most subway lines are elevated and go underground only as they approach northern Brooklyn and the East River.  This is what it looked like near the train stations:


Walls of snow!  Imagine having to walk over these mounds of snow just to cross the street? The stairs to the subway platforms were also covered with snow.

It certainly has been a challenge to deal with all of this the past few days but at least we've had electricity and heat and have been safely at home.   Thanks for all those who e-mailed me to ask if we were OK!  It could have been a lot worse. What a way to end 2010!



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36 comments:

steviewren said...

Amazing! I'm glad you guys didn't lose your power. That would have been bad.

I hope your daughter didn't get in too much trouble with her boss. Surely she wasn't the only employee who had transportation problems.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Staten Islander here :)
This snow is horrible!
Two sanitation trucks got
stuck on the block. A lot
of streets aren't plowed here too.
People who live in Manhattan
have no clue, what is like to
commute. Sorry your daughter
had to deal with a boss, that
is not understanding.:(
Hope this snow melts quickly!
I think everyone is getting cabin
fever.

Donnie said...

I remember where I lived, 57th and 5th, would just about stop when we had a bad snow. Glad everyone was able to stay safe and warm.

Sarah said...

Pat, happy to hear that you have had power. A friend in Connecticut didn't have power or water for over 12 hours. I don't know how you all survive these winters.
It's rainy here but in the 50s.
We were living in NYC in Dec. 2000 and the winter of 2001. There was a blizzard that hit before New Year's if I recall. I was surprised how the city shut down. No buses were running. We had tickets to a show but our apartment was on the east side and we couldn't get across town to the theatre district. I was amazed that the theatre refunded all those seats. I'm amazed that your daughter's boss didn't understand. No doubt she wasn't the only one who couldn't make it into work.
Stay warm and safe. Thanks for sharing the photos.
~ Sarah

CatHerder said...

we got 31.8 inches..and theyre STILL not done plowing our town..never had this problem before..we have seen tons of snowstorms i have no idea what was so different this time...hubby and i scaled one of those walls of snow walking the main road to quick check for our lottery tix yesterday lol

pam said...

What comes to mind is where in the heck do they put the snow they are trying to move or remove. We are so wide open around here, with wide streets that HUGE amounts take a few more trips down a street but we can pile it up easily without blocking traffic or creating parking issues. I've always wondered in NYC what they do with LOTS of snow...praying your daughters boss comes to his senses. Hope you can find some pretty in the midst of it all....and YAY for not loosing power. Hope you all get dug out soon.

Carol said...

I would have called it MESS Transit! MTA, the WORST! My hubs still didn't get to work today. Fingers crossed for tomorrow!
Sorry about your daughter's boss, what a pill!

black eyed susans kitchen said...

I was just listening to Marty Markowitz give it to the city...boy is he mad! What I don't understand is why they didn't have the sand trucks and plows out all during the storm. Even here is suburbia they dropped the ball. This is the first time in memory that there were no trucks out during the storm. Our street was semi plowed last night. Thank goodness for our hearty husbands!!
♥, Susan

Anonymous said...

Yes. The snow is so bad. Not only is it shutting down the whole NYC it is also effecting travelers from all over. So many were expecting to have a nice holiday and now their plans are ruined. It is not a fun mess.

Anonymous said...

Oh, for goodness' sakes! I can't imagine a boss pulling a power play during that storm.

I read the stories about being trapped in the subway, etc. Glad your loved ones weren't caught in that!

I know it's a mess, but it IS beautiful!

Ours has already melted.

Debbiedoos said...

Crazy crazy crazy! What awesome pics though. I remember many of winter days growing up in Buffalo NY and my dear Gramps shoveling his driveway and then going on to the neighbors. We had snow in South Carolina too!

Old Kitty said...

I am so sorry to hear that your daughter's boss was less than understanding and completely being Mr Scrooge if you ask me!! I and many others here in the UK were in a similar situation a couple of weeks ago when everything stopped because of the heavy snow - no public transport, roads were dangerous and the government advised people to stay home. I'd have been most put out if my bosses did not understand this situation!! I hope your daughter was not penalised in anyway!!

I hope your family keep very safe and warm!! Please please take care!! Your weather there is such that you are making headlines here!!! So it's bad!! So please take care!

x

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

Pat, I'm so glad all is well with you and that you're warm and the power is still on. I've been concerned.

My BIL lives in Mineola and he couldn't get to his bank yesterday in Queens. Your pictures tell it all.
Sam

Sniff said...

You sure got a lot of snow in one day! There's plenty of snow over here too, but it didn't all fall down at once. Too bad about your daughter's boss - that person really must have missed something to complain about an employee not being able to make it to work. The snowfall on the Eastern coast of the US and it's impacts was even featured on our (Norwegian) news!

Claudia said...

I knew you were inside with leftover cookies, DVD's and books. Now, I am grateful you had power. Shame on your daughter's boss!I have CA cousins stuck in NYC - they were supposed to leave Sunday night. Right now, they may get out Thursday!
`
After our last blizzard, the schools had to close down in Minneapolis/St. Paul because the school busses couldn't get to kids. It was impossible to plow with all the abandoned cars... what a winter!

Arlene Delloro said...

This is one time that those of us in the hinterlands (western Orange County) didn't get hit as hard as NYC. We had barely 6 inches of snow.

Ginny Hartzler said...

These are great pictures that really show us what it's like there. I guess you'll never forget this Christmas. I hpe your daughter didn't get fired or demoted or something.

Anonymous said...

Oh Pat...that all looks awful! It's been all over the news...and of course I knew you guys had to be dealing with it. We had a terrible blizzard a year ago on Christmas Eve and Day.....lots of snow...lots of wind..lots of drifting. It paralyzed things here, too, but now as much as it does your cities when the snow removal hasn't totally kicked in. My thoughts and prayers are with you guys....tell your hubby to be careful with that shoveling!! I did most of it at our house last year....thankfully, we have a snowblower attachment on our riding lawn mower (I don't operate that baby, but the husband does if he's not working). If he's a work and the snow needs clearing, I do it. :(

Stay safe....and hope you have a really great New Year's Eve....and 2011!! L, Dana

La said...

Wow! I kept watching the updates on the Weather Channel (I'm a geek like that). I'm glad you weathered the storm safely.

Let me guess, your daughter's boss is a man? No job, even in this economy, is worth jeopardizing your safety.

Stay warm! La

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Thanks for commiserating with me everyone! I feel better;)

No, La, my daughter's boss is actually a woman! She couldn't understand why my daughter didn't walk three miles to see if another train line was running...ugh!

So many people lost a day's pay today ...at a time they can least afford it!

Oh well, it could have been much worse! Recently so many people in California lost their homes in the torrential rain storms and mud slides. I know we can get over a little snow!

Anonymous said...

Until today I had no idea the east coast had had such a horrendous snow storm...apparently Norfolk, VA was hit pretty hard too! This is what happens when you give up TV and don't listen to the radio...and play with your blog for 3 days instead of paying attention to what's happening in the world. The Macy's windows are beyond description...thanks so much for sharing this...fantastical!!!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

It's been incredible! I hope you manage OK this week and that the weather improves! Take care! Stay warm! ♥

Ciao Chow Linda said...

I think your daughter must have the same boss I used to have when I worked in the city. It took my daughter nearly five hours to get to nyc from Princeton last night. It usually takes one hour.

Janie said...

I hope you all get dug out soon..we are almost dug out here on LI..(well, parts anyway)
The worst (for us personally) is trying to get to the animals..it means trudging through snow until paths are dug out...
My baby sister, on her way home from work, made an emergency stop here on her way, and spent the night..(we are in Suffolk, where she works, she lives in Nassau.. My son had a similar story as your daughter...he called in to see if he should come in, or wait a while until roads are plowed.. and they told him to get in..so he did...then they had no power until after Noon...then they told him to stay until his job was done no matter how late it was..he didn't get home until after 11:30pm..he said.."so now they have to pay me overtime...good for them"...

The worst isn't even done yet, now that it is starting to thaw, the refreezing at night makes night, and early am travel very scary..

You would expect the Transit Authorities ...you know..the ones we pay taxes for...to remember and try to "make it better" the next time around..but hey, that's only trying to be logical....

Be safe, and I hope you are all dug out soon...

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Glad you all are okay, Pat... I was thinking about you--after seeing pictures of the blizzard from your area, and hearing all of the stories from there... I have never in my entire life seen that much snow.... Good Gosh---It's shocking!!! BUT--as I said, I'm just glad you are okay.
Hugs,
Betsy

Kris said...

Wow!

Lora @ my blessed life said...

Wow! That's a lot of snow! Haven't seen that much since moving back to the South over 20 years ago:)

Cheryl D. said...

What a beautiful winter wonderland. I know it's not fun, but you have electricity. Might as well enjoy it as much as you can! Throw a snowball for me!

Gracie said...

My cousin and his wife weren't able to go to work yesterday too! I called them to make sure they were ok and moments later they sent me photos from their home, God, what a view!

Unknown said...

Wow! That snow is scarily deep! I thought it was bad here in England at like 10cm!

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

Oh my gosh! Doesn't look like the car would make it into the street anyway! What a storm!

Pondside said...

Yes, we've been reading about the terrible weather in the NE USA and in Nova Scotia. Take care, and don't let your husband shovel too much!

Nancy Jane said...

When we left Long Island and moved to Pennsylvania we worried a bit about how we'd handle large snowfalls. We did, the first 3 years, but last year and now this year you're getting much more than we are! You have my complete sympathy!

La Petite Gallery said...

Glad you are safe, I went out the back door and the snow was up to my knees, stay warm. I am not going out, I am nice and cozy.

Happy New Year.

yvonne

Annesphamily said...

We are getting snow now. the first of the season! But you were really hit hard! I am glad you are all safe and had heat and water! Many blessings to be grateful for. Your daughters boss is not a very understanding person. But often people with poor attitudes end up eating their own words. I believe what goes around comes around! I am just glad your family is safe and sound. Anne

Betty said...

I'm playing blog catch up tonight and was hoping you'd have pictures of the big snow storm. It looks beautiful, but I'm sure it gets old after a while...especially when you can't get anywhere. Hope it's all cleared by now. Happy New Year!