If you're in the vicinity, this blizzard isn't exactly news. Woodhaven is currently at a standstill. As of 6 pm Monday, most of the streets of Woodhaven (and most of Queens for that matter) have not been plowed. Some streets are blocked by abandoned cars. The J train was out of service, and people were being urged to stay home. But before it got that bad, we took to the streets to get a glimpse of the opening stages of the blizzard. Here's what we came up with:
These first two pictures are way before the storm -- Sunday morning at 9 AM. The DSNY was ready up in Forest Park where concrete barriers surrounded a massive pile of salt. While we were in the park, we caught a glimpse of the newly refurbished tennis courts -- they look real nice and we'll take a closer look in a few weeks. Once we've dug out :-)
The flakes started floating lazily around us by 9:30 and by 10:00 AM snowflakes were flying. If you were out early on Sunday, the stores weren't too crowded. By noon, it was bedlam.
Here we are (below) around 1:30 PM. The snow had started sticking almost immediately, and the wind was strong. Right from the start, the roads were a little slippery, a sure sign that the next 24 hours were going to be bad.
Okay, now it's getting bad. This was after we'd picked up a few last minute things -- we decided to take one last drive through the park around 2:30. The wind was whipping down Forest Park Drive. Look at the way the snow is sticking to the trees, like a white vein. Very interesting. That's the Oak Ridge House way in the background.
Below: The view down Forest Park Drive from roughly the same vantage point as above. It was actually easier at this point driving through the park than it was driving through Woodhaven's side streets. Because the DSNY had all of its salt stored in the parking lot, the trucks kept driving down this road and it was repeatedly salted. But you can see the road was getting bad.
Forest Park Drive. It's beautiful in the midst of a storm. Quiet.
Here is our video diary of our trip around Woodhaven during the opening hours of yesterday's blizzard. You'll even get to be witness to our very first intentional skid in the snow in the parking lot. It's just a small one, but for us, quite an event :-) Enjoy!
By the way, here's a look at our "sky cam" -- basically, it's our camera, on top of our tripod, over our car as we drive around town. Some people, as were were passing by, stopped to take a look at the camera. Maybe they think we're from Google :-)
Back to the blizzard pictures. Remember the tennis courts from 9 AM? By the afternoon you couldn't see them at all.
There weren't any skateboarders at the bandshell today :-) Check out the little birds braving the winds.
Here's a closeup of one of the birds -- we had some crackers in the car and we threw them out the window but he flew away.
Here's some folks braving the storm to get their doggies some exercise. One doggie has a jacket on and the other has a scarf -- so they were dressed for the weather! They look like they've had enough fresh air, though :-)
The gates to the golf course were open but we weren't going to venture too far inside. You can see that by this time, blizzard conditions were in effect and visibility was pretty bad.
The wind was blowing the snow sideways -- if you were out in it late yesterday afternoon, you understand what we're saying. Our faces were stinging!
It was time to head back to the neighborhood, back to our home, and get settled for the next few days. Here, again, is Oak Ridge.
By Monday, all Libraries across the city were closed.
Here's a look at our Christmas Tree -- look closely and you'll see that the lights are on.
Some folks had the right idea -- stop into our local tavern for a cold one. Or a warm one :-)
Here's another video of the blizzard in Woodhaven, courtesy of Bobby The Flash --
Even under the cover of the train station, the snow was piling up. On a side note, check out the unusual light at the side of the new train steps on 85th Street. I've not seen anything like that before -- looks nice, like a torch. Do the other steps have a similar light?
Here are a bunch of people, out enjoying the weather. Ah, to be a young kid again!
Here's the aftermath -- 2 PM on Monday. The road has not been plowed, we haven't seen a car moving since around 7 PM Sunday. Funny, though -- a lot of the cars on the street had all the snow blown off. Neat!
Here's another view of our street -- they say it'll be in the 50s by the end of the week. Faster, please. We're lucky, we live on the side of the street that gets a lot of sun. Unfortunately, we're also on the side of the street that gets plowed in. Give a little, get a little.
And these guys are going to need the sun -- it's gonna be a long week!
If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com .
