That blizzard was a bust.
City and state officials greatly over-estimated 2015’s first significant snowfall, closing the road, train, and subway systems in an attempt to preempt the effects of what turned out to be four-to-six inches of snow in most Brooklyn neighborhoods.
Dire warnings from elected officials and the drastic measures taken by area authorities had put people on edge in the run-up the storm, but hardy Brooklynites calmly went about their day on Tuesday when the promised blizzard fizzled.
Mayor DeBlasio — who was roundly criticized last year for a lackadaisical response to the first snowstorm of his tenure — was all over this one, holding a flurry of press conferences throughout the day on Monday, cancelling school, and urging people to stay indoors.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo went so far as ordering the closure of state roadways and the subway and bus systems on Monday evening, even though the train system needed to keep some trains running overnight in order to keep tracks clear of ice, as this paper exclusively reported.
Brooklynites snuggled into bed Monday night after binge-watching their favorite television shows, expecting to wake up to a three-foot wall of the white stuff outside their doors. But instead, they found a few inches of snow and mostly cleared streets. Subways were back up and running on Sunday schedules by noon. And some workers expecting a snow day found they would have to schlep to their offices after all.
Still, some Brooklynites got the chance to enjoy the snow — and our intrepid reporters and “snow-tographers” were out there to capture it.
One Park Slope parent who was making a snowman with his son in front of their 16th Street building on Tuesday said that the response didn’t bother him, and that politicians have a tough row to plow.“Closing the subways seemed a little irrational,” said Jason Kruk, a psychologist. “[But] it’s better to overreact then to under-react.”Kruk’s practice is on the distant island of Manhattan, so he canceled all of his appointments for the day and hit the street.
Toby, his 3-year-old son, was disappointed that the local muffin store was closed, and that the head of his snowman kept falling off.
A Greenwood Heights resident sledding with her daughter and boyfriend in Prospect Park echoed the better-safe-than-sorry sentiment.
“I’m glad they shut down the subways so people didn’t get stuck,” Cassandra Romaguera said.
Over in Bushwick, a man hard at work shoveling out his vehicle on Menahan Street at Wilson Avenue said the snowfall was underwhelming.“It is annoying to have to dig out my car, but this really is not a big deal,” Jose Amaro said.
And a woman trudging through the snow on Bushwick Avenue offered more of the benefit-of-a-doubt take on the government response that pretty much everyone our reporters spoke to had, then perhaps ventured closer to the heart of the matter.“I am glad that they shut down the subway, just in case it was really bad,” Allison Donovan said. “And it meant I did not have to go to work.”
