New York City has had 57 inches of snowfall so far this winter. While that's still 18 inches short of the 1995-96 season, it's still a pretty impressive amount.
I feel lucky to live in Manhattan most days, but this good fortune is particularly acute during snow season, when the City is really well-serviced by the snow plows. When I relocated here 3 years ago I lived in a doorman building, so even after a decent snowfall the maintenance staff ensured our footpath was pristinely clean (or on its way to being so) in time for the morning commute. These days I live in a low-rise apartment building where the super lives off-site and is hardly ever here. As a result, the common area outside my building can be positively treacherous after a decent snowstorm. And if ice accumulates? Well it's a slow shuffle along the footpath to the next snowless spot.
The City of New York actually maintains a snow plow tracker, where you can input your address and monitor just how well the snow clearance is progressing. However, given that the NYC Department of Sanitation trucks are in charge of snow removal, it makes it impossible for them to manage rubbish removal at the same time. You would think that this would make New York streets even smellier than in the heat of summer; but the rubbish actually freezes, which fortunately seems to keep odors in a state of suspended animation. Even snowstorms have a silver lining, it seems!
And while the snow might disrupt traffic and public transport, and sometimes force schools and offices to close, I still think it's a really lovely phenomenon to watch (from the relative safety of a warm, dry place of course). I'll just need to remember to put on my gumboots on Monday morning, so I can slosh through the snowdrifts, in the direction of a subway that may or may not be running. I'm ready whenever you are, Spring!
