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Winter of NYC discontent: Bummer blizzard comes just as filthy snow was melting away
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Feb 22, 2026
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Ryan Murphy/Getty Images
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Feb 22, 2026
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Not again.
New Yorkers across the city let out a collective groan Sunday as the city got walloped by a blizzard, just as the filthy ice from last month’s snowstorm was finally melting away.
Everyone had different ways of coping with the grim forecast. Some hoarded groceries, picking the shelves clean. Others, like so many since time immemorial, headed to the bar.
Around a dozen people and a dog drank (water) at the dimly lit Ridgewood watering hole Windjammer Sunday afternoon, as the snow began to accumulate.
“It just sucks for a lot of people that can't work in the city and they can't get paid time off, it just sucks for all of us,” Sydney Buck, 33, said. ”I'm coping by playing pool and having a couple shots of jager, that’s what I’m doing.”
Buck, a private chef, said she’d had to cancel a pop-up up event for her company “Buckwild” on Tuesday because deliveries fell through. She estimated the event would’ve brought in $2,000.
She said this had been the harshest winter she’d endured over 13 years in the city. It was even worse, she said, than the 2016 blizzard when she lost electricity. That storm dumped 27.5 inches of snow in Central Park.
Private chef Sydney Buck threw back a drink at Windjammer before heading home to make dinner and ride out the storm.
Catalina Gonella
That still could not compare to this winter of New York discontent, which began with 14 inches of snow on Jan. 26. What followed was a miserable three-week stretch of below-freezing temperatures. The snow stuck around, blocking crosswalks and bus stops and narrowing sidewalks. The social fabric began to fray. For some inexplicable reason, dog owners stopped picking up their pets’ poop. Trash accumulated because alternate side parking was suspended and sanitation workers were busy tending to the snow, which became more disgusting by the day.
Buck said her next stop was the grocery store, where she planned to stock up on ingredients to make cozy dishes like soups and bolognese.
“If you want to do something to pass this time, befriend your local bar and also stock up on some things that you feel comfortable cooking and you like cooking — don't order food right now,” she said.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani would likely agree with her decision to cook at home. He instituted a travel ban for non-essential driving that prompted DoorDash to suspend deliveries.
A few snow-covered blocks away at the German pub Gottscheer Hall, Ridgewood resident Madison Davidson, 31, said she had already stocked up on groceries but wanted to get out of the house.
“ I think it's unfortunate that the last [storm] hadn't completely dissipated with the trash mounds. But I mean, I'm from Ohio so snow isn't that big of a deal,” she said. “ I just face it head on.”
Her partner John Irving, 31, took comfort in the forecast after the blizzard has passed.
Drinkers at Gottscheer in Ridgewood.
Catalina Gonella
“I like it while it's still falling, as long as there aren't lingering piles accumulating garbage,” he said. “I mostly just feel like it kind of highlighted how much trash there was everywhere to begin with so hopefully it doesn't happen again. But I’m kind of resigned to it at this point.”
The rest of the week shows high temperatures above freezing, meaning the snow shouldn’t turn into a revolting block of ice, garbage and turds this time around.
Glendale resident Willy Wilhelm, 61, said he hoped enough snow fell so that he didn’t have to go to work on Monday.
“ I don't want it to stick around like the last time. But it's gonna be warm by Wednesday. I think by next week, no matter what we get, it'll all be gone,” he said.
He noted that daylight saving time is coming up on March 8.
“I see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
His way of preparing for the storm? Throwing back a cold one at Gottscheer.
“This way when I get home, I'll be all nice and relaxed, so I tell my son, ‘bust out that shovel and take care of all of this out there,’” he said.
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Catalina Gonella
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