Tourists, New Yorkers Go Out In Snow Despite Warnings From Officials
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Despite warnings from state and local officials to stay home, many in New York City took to the streets to have some fun in the blizzard of 2016.
The city transformed into a pedestrian town after a road travel ban was put into effect Saturday afternoon.
Over near Herald Square, tourists were out and about, many taking advantage of the fact that many stores like Macy's were still open.
Jennifer, from Toronto, told 1010 WINS' Samantha Liebman the snow isn't that big of a deal to her.
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"We came in last night and got here before the snow," she said. (Liebman: You could have canceled, right?) We could have but why not? We're Canadian so it's OK and New Yorkers walk everywhere, so we're fine. New York is just as beautiful in the snow."
Pam, from Princeton, drove into the city Friday night and got a hotel room for the weekend.
"There's life here, otherwise I'd be stuck in the house all weekend. So, I can go shopping, I can eat out, I can do all the things that I'd like to do and it's pretty manageable here without a car," she said.
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And she wasn't alone.
"We're from Australia. We really wanted to experience the amazing snow and we're heading to the Metropolitan museum to keep warm," one tourist told CBS2's Lou Young.
"I was trying to buy pants for my son to go sledding because we just moved but everything's closed," said one woman.
"Everybody should be going for a cocktail, it's a good day for one," one man told Young.
One woman told CBS2's Diane Macedo she and her kids baked some brownies, went sledding and had a snowball fight.
"What coaxed you out into the streets today?" Macedo asked.
"Three children -- 5 and under -- in a New York City apartment," she replied.
In Central Park, some children were not merely making the best of the snow, but were relishing it.
"It's absolutely magnificent out here with all the snow blowing around," one Central Park sledding aficionado told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond. "It's great."
Patricia, who was supposed to go see La Boheme at the Metropolitan Opera for her birthday, was instead out in the snow after the show was canceled due to the inclement weather.
"I was actually born in a snowstorm, it's not my first snowstorm on my birthday, so I feel it's pretty special, I feel like God is snowing down on me," she said.
A man named Chuck told CBS2's Valerie Castro that he and his wife, Barbara, decided to take a trek outside on the Upper West Side and go out to dinner. They found one restaurant open – albeit jammed – at 71st Street and Broadway.
"It was very welcoming, and they weren't out of food, so we had dinner," Chuck said, adding that he and his wife were looking for a coffee shop that might be open afterward.
Chuck said getting around on foot was not really so bad.
"You can walk in the middle of the street now, and just watch out for the occasional snow plow, so it's actually pretty convenient," he said. "Certainly, the street's less crowded than they normally are, and it's been a very pleasant walk."
And WCBS 880's Peter Haskell found some people who even broke the travel ban and drove anyway. Among them was Helen Anderson of the Upper West Side, who was driving half a dozen blocks to the supermarket.
"I'm going to go home fast," she said.
Throughout the afternoon, the snow was pounding as CBS2's Young stood at 86th Street and Lexington Avenue, and CBS2's Elise Finch stood outside in Park Slope.
People even came up to CBS2's Young with homemade chicken soup and coffee.
The road travel ban will remain in effect until 7 a.m. Sunday.
Service on above-ground subway lines and New York City subways was also shut down.
