Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Park Slopers Calm and Excited for Snowstorm

By Leslie Albrecht | February 8, 2013 12:34pm

PARK SLOPE — The powerful blizzard barreling toward the city had Park Slopers less worried than excited Friday.

With the brunt of Nemo expected to hit Friday evening, locals spent the morning stocking up on snow day essentials at Tarzian Hardware on Seventh Avenue, where bags of salt and stacks of firewood lined the sidewalk.

"It's been crazy since 8:30 a.m.," said employee Zari Mati. "[But] it's not like they're preparing themselves — they're waiting for a snow day. This area wasn't affected by Sandy so people aren't really thinking about [disaster preparation]."

The store hauled a few hundred sleds out of its basement in preparation, said employee Patrick Kratovil. Business was brisk, but paled in comparison to the run-up to Hurricane Sandy, when a line snaked through the entire store and customers grabbed batteries and flashlights, Kratovil said.

Though high winds were expected to bring power outages to the New York area, customers on Friday were buying mostly sleds, Kratovil said.

"People are more looking for an opportunity to go outside to the park," he said.

Among them was dad Silas Jeffrey, who took one sled out of storage and bought another at Tarzian.

"I'm excited about it," said Jeffrey, who picked up a shiny red Flexible Flyer sledding disc. "It's a break, and the city changes a little bit. It becomes a little quieter."

Mom Justine Markus stopped in with her 2-year-old son Will, who was decked out in a snowsuit even before the first flakes fell Friday. They planned to enjoy the blizzard baking chocolate chip cookies and sledding in Prospect Park.

Meanwhile at the Park Slope Food Coop, shoppers endured long lines, though one online commenter reported Friday morning that customers weren't yet in a pre-storm frenzy.

"Storm panic level, as measured by the Park Slope Food Coop: not quite up to pre-Irene or Sandy level yet; hovering somewhere around a-week-out-from-Thanksgiving level," wrote a commenter on Edible Brooklyn's Facebook page.