New York City itself almost never gets snow, I say almost because once I saw snow there... once in all those years I stepped out into slush but the storm was of legendary proportions. They say it's because the subway gives off so much heat that the snow melts before it can accumulate. There were times the outer boroughs were covered in the stuff but NYC streets & sidewalks were completely clear. Odd but true
For me the only question would be which neighborhood I would prefer, lots of good ones to choose from and each has it's own distinct personality... I love that about NYC.
That's not quite accurate. We do get a bit of snow here in the city. Not as much as in past years. Less each year. I've been here 30 years, from way upstate, so I DO know snow country.
Only twice in my recollection has a the city fully shut down completely because of a Noreaster blizzard. But, mainly, when they announce a "blizzard" coming in, it's only 4".
That's not much for people who know blizzards usually mean 6" - 12" of snow, falling several straight days.
The reason people don't see snow on the
streets & sidewalks of NYC, is that each building get fined up the wazoo if their walkway in front has snow or ice. Not to mention, if someone falls, they could be subject to a major lawsuit.
Landlords & businesses are usually out shoveling within hours of snow falling, and even
during a snowfall, keeping the sidewalks clear. When I wake up in the morning, I can hear one of the guys shoveling the walk below, and I know it snowed overnite.
What then happens is they push all the snow into snow banks that people can't walk through. They have to cross streets only at the corners. If you do own a car, and you leave it at the curb overnight during a storm, don't expect to be able to get your car out for a few DAYS, as the snow plow AND businesses will have pushed and shoveled a literal foot of snow all the way around your car. It's like a snow barricade. Unless you have a shovel, you cannot get your car out.
The snow banks cause two problems: The huge trash bags that are normally piled neatly at the edge of the curbs are now moved inwards, and it's hard to negotiate around them, especially when you have self-involved tourists, who just stop & stand in the middle of the flow of busy,
moving pedestrians, so unaware of their surroundings, as though they are still in some empty corn field some where, and start yakking to each other.
Second, all the snow on the snow banks and in the parking lanes clog up the sewer drains. All that snow melting from the heat of the sidewalks directly above the underneath subway lines, has
nowhere to go. Clogged sewer drains mean the water collects and floods various street corners. Some intersections become a virtual moat
to try to cross to get to the other side.
That's when you have to try to climb the snow banks in the middle of blocks as they are drier areas instead. I don't think I've ever come home without soggy, water-filled shoes.
If the temperature turns to freezing, the few days after the snow has turned to water, the accumulated water turns to ice all over the ground, which is worse than the snow. Since there was no snow fall, the plows to NOT have to come by to move away formed ice. Any areas not shoveled, and there are
many, become treacherous to walk or drive on.
Anyone with mobility problems will have a hard time negotiating the streets of NYC because of the snow banks & the flooded street corners and ice.
Then, you add taxi drivers from Jamaica & the Caribbean,
who've never driven in the snow before. . . they don't know about pumping their brakes.
Plus, they have NO idea what black ice is.
Really, in the world?
