A major snowstorm slammed New York City on Wednesday, the second day of spring.
The nor’easter dropped 14.5 inches of snow in Queens Village and nearly 14 inches in Port Richmond, Staten Island, according to the latest National Weather Service totals. Other parts of Queens saw 8 to 12 inches.
In Brooklyn, Bedford-Stuyvesant saw 12.7 inches and Park Slope had 8.5 inches, according to the NWS.
About 8 inches was recorded in East Tremont in the Bronx, while Riverdale saw 5.5 inches. In Manhattan, there were 10 inches recorded in Gramercy Park and 8 inches measured in Harlem.
Despite the intensity of the storm, many people headed to Prospect Park in the afternoon to take advantage of the snowy hills.
Mike Julianelle and his wife Heather Millen took their two children, 7-year-old Lucian and 2-year-old Dylan, out for some sledding action.
“I’m surprised the snow accumulated so quick,” said Julianelle, 41, before lamenting the weather. “I’ve lived in the Northeast my whole life. We never get an early spring.”
Not having a sled at hand was not a problem for one creative couple at the park. Maya Bruck, 35, and her husband PJ Letourhneau, 39, took their 11-month-old son Toby for a ride on a homemade sled.
“I created a makeshift sled for the boy made out of a cardboard box, bubble wrap and bungee cords,” Letourhneau explained.
“Clearly this is our first time,” Bruck added, laughing as she referred to the sled.
Over at the dog run, Allan Vanell, 29, was playing with his Great Dane named Jude.
“It’s not much of a storm. I was expecting a couple of feet [of snow],” the Kensington resident said. “But it’s nice and [Jude] loves the weather. It was a nice day off; a snow day was needed.”
While New Yorkers took advantage of the snow day, the Department of Sanitation was busy clearing roads, which were expected to be clear for Thursday morning’s rush hour, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
The MTA’s subways ran relatively smoothly considering the storm, with “light ridership” reported on the morning commute and minor snow-related service changes during the evening commute.
All local, express, limited and SBS buses were running with delays Thursday, per the MTA.
Alternate side parking remains suspended Thursday, but parking meters will be in effect, according to city officials.
Public schools — closed on Wednesday — were open Thursday, according to the mayor’s office.
The mayor urged New Yorkers to call 311 if they have any problems with heat or hot water.
Several buildings at six New York City Housing Authority developments experienced weather-related heating issues, as of 7 p.m., per a spokesman for the mayor’s office. All but one of the issues — a heating outage at a building in the Frederick Douglass Houses in Manhattan — were resolved, the spokesman said.
The state deployed 300 National Guard personnel to the city, Long Island and the Hudson Valley, along with 350 large plow trucks and 30 tons of salt, to deal with the storm’s effects, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said. The governor, who called the nor’easter a “serious storm,” had issued a state of emergency for the region Wednesday afternoon.
New York City and New Jersey airports suspended many flights throughout the day, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.
The sun is expected to come out Thursday afternoon and there’s a high of 46 degrees, the NWS said.
With Matthew Chayes, Alison Fox and Ivan Pereira
