Disappointed by the underwhelming amount of snow that actually arrived, despite predictions of blizzard-like proportions by forecasters over the weekend, Bay Ridge residents struggled on Wednesday, March 15, the day after the blizzard that wasn’t, to unearth their vehicles from a mix of snow and ice that had resulted from temperatures being just a bit warmer than expected, and commute to work safely on the icy streets.
Anticipating the close of their establishment, restaurants like Campania at 9824 Fourth Avenue prepared in advance by having most of their vendors deliver by Monday night, the evening before the blizzard was scheduled to hit, even though Tuesday is typically the day for deliveries.
To enable the eatery to bounce back, General Manager Gregory Dragonetti made sure to check for damage and make “snow removal arrangements” in advance for staff to shovel yesterday.
He said he felt the eatery would have been open “had we known the snow wasn’t going to be as bad as predicted” — four to six inches instead of one to two feet — and felt the business “missed out” on being “the place for the community to go for the night. ”
Also losing clientele for the day was chiropractor Dr. Richard Eggert, who dug himself out of a car he drove from Staten Island this morning after getting stuck on a patch of ice to get to his office at 9408 Fourth Avenue. Also the owner of the building, Eggert paid one of his tenants to take care of the sidewalk in front of the building.
The lull on Tuesday, March 14, the day of the storm, was followed by a return to some degree of normalcy on Wednesday morning. At the reception desk in Eggert’s office, Bay Ridge resident Dorothy Luca said most clients scheduled for Wednesday had arrived or were running late.
Also commuting from Staten Island was Cathy’s Place employee Lauren Homsi, who said the restaurant, at Fourth Avenue and 96th Street, closed earlier than planned at 3 p.m. yesterday.
Bay Ridge resident Robert Glennerster said he had tried doing grocery shopping, but shelves were empty and “all the veggies were gone.”
Monday night, Homsi was at her second job at Shop Rite on Staten Island, and said with a laugh that “everybody panicked like they had never seen snow.” She said the kitchen staff were the ones to shovel the street outside of the diner last night.
This seems to be the case with many local merchants. Mike Mikhail, of Santa Maria Deli on Fourth Avenue near Marine Avenue, was one of the lucky ones. He didn’t have to shovel because the sidewalk in front of his store is covered by scaffolding.