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Queens Blanketed in More Than 8 Inches of Snow, Hundreds of Flights Canceled

Jan 7 snow (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

A man shovels snow on Queens Boulevard between 44th Street and 45th Street Friday morning (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Jan. 7, 2022 By Michael Dorgan

New York City was blanketed by a large snowstorm early Friday with parts of Queens being hit the hardest.

The first widespread snowfall of the year saw LaGuardia Airport hit with 8.4 inches of snow — the largest total recorded in the five boroughs — while 5.5 inches covered John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to the National Weather Service.

Bayside saw 7.3 inches of snow while 6 inches fell in Elmhurst.

The snowfall caused havoc at area airports with hundreds of flight cancellations, including 340 at LaGuardia and 227 at JFK. The storm did not cause any major delays to subway trains in Queens.

The rough weather created hazardous conditions for motorists, with poor visibility and icy roads. The snowfall had moved out of Queens by around 9 a.m. but conditions remain dangerous with wet roads and snow turning to sludge.

The Sunnyside arch, located near the 46th Street subway station, is covered in snow Friday morning. (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Mayor Eric Adams praised Dept. of Sanitation crews for their efforts in clearing the deluge of snow.  The DSNY had around 1,600 plows out to tackle the heavy snowfall– at a time when 22 percent of its workforce is out due to COVID-19.

“At the heart of all this [cleanup] is DSNY,” Adams said, while praising DSNY workers at a morning press briefing Friday. “We often overlook them, we often take them for granted, believing that no matter what, that this happens automatically. It does not.”

Adams vowed that the storm would not bring the city to a halt — while it also battles a health and economic crisis stemming from the coronavirus.

“A snowstorm is not going to stop us, an economic storm is not going to stop us,” Adams said. “We are going to forge ahead. No one does it like New York and anyone that thinks they can bet against New York there is another thing coming,”

The mayor decided that public schools would remain open for the day.

“We lost a lot of school days due to COVID… we don’t have any more days to waste,” Adams said.

Meanwhile, alternate side parking is suspended Friday and Saturday, the Dept. of Transporation said. However, parking meters will remain in effect.

The snowfall caused havoc at airports in Queens Friday with hundreds of flight cancellations (Photo via @LGAairport)

Jan 7 snow 42nd street (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Snowfall on 42nd Street in Sunnyside, Queens, Friday (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Jan 7 snow (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Snowfall on 45th Street in Sunnyside, Queens Friday (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Jan 7 arch (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post) (1)

The Sunnyside arch, located near the 46th Street subway station, is covered in snow Friday. (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Jan 7 snow 44th Street (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post) (3)

Snowfall on 44th Street in Sunnyside, Queens, Friday (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

The storm did not cause any major subway delays. Pictured is the 7 train pulling into Queensboro Plaza Friday morning (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Jan 7 snow (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

A snow truck on Queens Boulevard Friday morning (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Jan 7 snow (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Snowfall on the 46th Street Bliss station Friday (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Jan 7 snow (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Snowfall on the 46th Street in Sunnyside, Queens, Friday (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Jan 7 snow (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Snowfall on the 46th Street in Sunnyside, Queens, Friday (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

citymd

Residents braved the cold weather to line up for COVID-19 tests near Queensboro Plaza Friday (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Residents braved the cold weather to line up for COVID-19 tests near Queensboro Plaza (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Residents braved the cold weather to line up for COVID-19 tests near Queensboro Plaza Friday (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

 near Queensboro Plaza (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Snowfall near Queensboro Plaza Friday morning (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

 near Queensboro Plaza (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Snowfall near Queensboro Plaza Friday morning (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

qp 3(Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Snowfall near Queensboro Plaza Friday morning (Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

email the author: news@queenspost.com

23 Comments

Click for Comments 
Ester

Spent 50 bucks for a snow shovel and a bag of snow salt last week. Its ridiculous. Even the locals you pay to shovel your home are asking for double the amount. And then they have the nerve to demand a tip!

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Gia

Testing for covid lines and wait times have reduced dramatically now that the holidays are over and people protected thier loved ones at another state. If only more people cared about each other in nyc.

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Seth

Sanitation did a good job plowing but skipped the Thursday collection in my neighborhood when there was no snow. Not sure why they couldn’t pick up trash the day before/after a snowstorm. Are sanitation workers out sick also? Tired of the dog waste piling up in my trash bins.

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Ava

Walking around after the snow was very pretty. But, crossing the street not so much. Puddles galore. Time to contact Julie Won and complain about this.

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Caoimhe

At last. got 6-7 inches. Snow day for kids, play time. Just one of the benefits of moving to my home on LI with a fenced big backyard for my kids.

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Pat

Let me guess what’s next.. gigantic murderous snowballs rolling down New York City streets with no one to STOP IT!

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buy new rulers

where do these people get their rulers from? everytime there’s snow its 2x more than the correct number.
That was 3” tops

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Hj

Shovel your front sidewalks! Its the law. People have places to go and things to do. I had so much trouble walking my dogs yesterday. Some of the sidewalks are full of snow and icy. I called 311 on many front properties.

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Gardens Watcher

Sanitation plows were out in force overnight. Looks like some sidewalks still need to be shoveled.

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ABoondy

yeah, they have no problem waking up entire neighborhoods at 5 am when they slam the plows everywhere, much like when the garbage trucks wake everyone up at 2 AM twice a week on my block. i mean, why would anyone pick up garbage during the day when you can see what you are picking up and avoid injury?

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Frigidaire

Can my garbage and recycling get picked up in the meantime while Adams is blowing all this hot air to melt the snow – thx.

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There is stupid then there is Fox Stupid

Frigid- You wouldn’t be so upset by Adams if you would turn off what you call News once in awhile.

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Clean which first?

Is car safety more important than sanitary safety?

Most important that fire and ambulance and transit to dialysis come before your garbage pickup.

Bicycle green lanes have their own small plows. Very interesting.

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