A notice in the window of Capital One Bank on Bainbridge Avenue in Norwood on Friday afternoon, Jan. 28, informed its customers that the bank was closing early that day, ahead of the snow storm which was due to hit the City on Friday and last until Saturday, Jan. 29.

Customers were still able to withdraw money from the bank’s ATMs. Meanwhile, as reported, City and State officials, including Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul urged New Yorkers ahead of the storm to stay home and avoid getting injured or stuck in an emergency situation as the City’s sanitation employees worked to clear the City’s roadways.

Yes, @NYCHealthSystem #TestSites are open today. But if it's still be too hard to get around, there's a sneak peek of next week's flyers for each borough at https://t.co/GvBhDdw0Ak. Stay warm & safe today, but make a plan to #GetTested (pls ☑️ for *frequently* updated versions!)

— Theresa Doherty (@outrospecting) January 30, 2022

City officials had warned, as reported, that more than a foot of snow was possible given the size and track of the winter weather event forecast by the New York office of the National Weather Service on Thursday.

The snow storm was the first of its kind of the New Year, and while a lot of people took the advice of the mayor and governor and stayed home, some still had to work, and were seen battling their way across blankets of snow white ground, making deliveries or heading to work.

As reported, it was announced that City-run COVID-19 testing sites would be closed temporarily amid the storm, but they were back open again on Sunday, Jan. 30.

Theresa Doherty from NYC Health + Hospitals tweeted on Sunday, “Yes, @NYCHealthSystem #TestSites are open today. But, if it’s too hard to get around, there’s a sneak peek of next week’s flyers for each borough.”

Alright, the snow is done falling, so let’s get down to serious business:

SLEDDING!

Here’s a quick rundown of some of our favorite spots to hit across the five boroughs today:

The Bronx:
-Crotona Park (of course)
-Van Cortlandt Park
-Shoelace Park

— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) January 30, 2022

She duly provided a bit.ly link to the latest list of COVID-19 public testing sites for the week commencing Jan, 31, adding, “Stay warm and safe today, but make a plan to #GetTested. Pls check for frequently updated versions [of the list of testing sites].”

The latest list is attached above [in two parts in an effort to make the font larger].

Meanwhile, Norwood News photographer, Miriam Quiñones, captured some more images of a snow-covered Jerome Park on Sunday.

After the snowfall ended, with so much wind, the snow didn’t always stay on cars, but when the sanitation trucks pushed the dirty, icy snow to the side of the streets and up against people’s parked cars, it made it harder for drivers to get out of their parking spaces and to remove snow from around their vehicles.

Residents were pictured shoveling away piles of snow from around their cars that sat on top of ice, while elsewhere snow on the ground remained soft and was easier to clear.

Elsewhere, the depth of the snowfall was easily evidenced by the sight of large footprints made by people’s shoes/boots, which were imprinted deep into the snow’s surface.

One father, who declined to provide his name, and who was out walking in Jerome Park with his children on Sunday, told Norwood News it was too cold to be outside and that he was going to head back home.

It wasn’t all hard work though. Some kids were spotted along Jerome Avenue with sleds, seemingly making the most of the snowy occasion.

LIVE NOW IN THE BRONX: @NYCMayor provides a #COVID19 update at Jacobi Medical Center. https://t.co/SShhtsCTeA

— NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) January 30, 2022

Even Mayor Eric Adams got in on the lighter side of the situation, and in between “getting stuff done,” tweeting a list of the City’s best parks for sledding, after he spent Saturday hitching a ride with the City’s sanitation workers around the five boroughs to assess the snow clearance progress on the ground.

He had earlier been seen clearing snow from in front of his own home on Saturday morning, and encouraged others to do the same.

A remarkable milestone — 75% of New Yorkers are now fully vaccinated. That includes 85% of adults fully vaccinated, and millions who have taken the booster dose to stay up to date. But we have more work to do to get children ages 5 to 12 vaccinated. 🧵

— Commissioner Ashwin Vasan, MD, PhD (@NYCHealthCommr) January 30, 2022

Meanwhile, the FDNY also encouraged New Yorkers to keep local fire hydrants clear of snow, in case of emergency.

On Sunday, the mayor was back in the Bronx at Jacobi Hospital providing a COVID briefing, during which it was announced that 75 percent of New Yorkers are now fully vaccinated. In the Bronx, that figure is 70 percent, the second-lowest of the five boroughs. In Manhattan, the rate is 80 percent, in Brooklyn: 69 percent, in Queens: 82 percent and on Staten Island: 72 percent.

Meanwhile, the NY Daily News reported on Sunday that NYPD officers who have refused to get vaccinated up until now have until Feb. 11 to do so, according to a memo sent out to NYPD sergeants by the Sergeants Benevolent Association president, Vincent Vallelong.

Some e-scooter services had been suspended amid the snow storm, and indeed some were seen discarded randomly along Gun Hill Road in Williamsbridge on Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, late on Friday afternoon, Norwood News spoke to a man from Norwood as he walked his dog in the Williamsbridge Oval Park, and asked him if the storm ended up being as bad as predicted, would he bring his dog out for a walk the following day. “I will, but quick, just in front of my building,” he said.

Asked if he believed the weather service would accurately predict the correct snowfall totals, he replied, “They’re going to get it right.” He added, “I was talking to a weatherman from Telemundo, yeah, and he told me they were scared because if it’s closer, we might get a foot-and-a-half. I like snow anyway, but not that much.”

admin

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.