By Trevor Kapp, Maya Rajamani, Nicole Levy, Jeanmarie Evelly, Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska, Gwynne Hogan and Aidan Gardiner
NEW YORK CITY — Predictions of snowmageddon ended up more like "flake news."
New Yorkers expecting a blizzard at their doorstep Tuesday morning shrugged off the icy wind that tore through the city instead.
"This is nothing. They overdid it. It's not a bad snowstorm. It's slushy out here. You know how many people called out of work today? It's a bulls--t storm compared to what I expected," said David Dunbar, 40, of Fordham, who was at Grand Central en route home from work at a Manhattan supermarket.
Sara Caamano, 24, a cashier at American New York Bagel in Jackson Heights, was also unimpressed by the Tuesday storm.
"They said it was going to be pretty harsh, but then it's like this," Caamano said. "This is nothing compared to other blizzards," she added.
*wakes up early to see if i have snow day knowing this storm was bullshit* *has a snow day anyway for no god damn reason*
— Linzy Kersul (@lindsaykersul) March 14, 2017
Oscar Rodriguez, 18, drove from his home in Woodside to Astoria to help his uncle shovel snow from the walks and driveways in the neighborhood. "I thought it was going to be much worse," Rodriguez said.
George Heilig, 41, was disappointed to see the white stuff become sleet because he'd been looking forward to a fun-filled snow day.
"I would prefer 12 to 18 inches. I'm a big kid. I like to play in the snow," Heilig said.
On Monday, forecasters thought as many as 20 inches of snow could wallop the city.
Mayor Bill de Blasio warned Monday that the storm would be a "very serious blizzard," and both he and Governor Andrew Cuomo declared states of emergency. Schools closed and above-ground train service was suspended.
By 11 a.m., only about 7 inches of snow had fallen on Queens Village, the most of anywhere in the city. The National Weather Service lifted its blizzard warning in the area, downgrading it to a winter weather advisory.
De Blasio stuck to his guns Wednesday afternoon when pressed about his decision to close schools because the dire predictions were holding up until the storm hit.
"There was no choice, in my opinion, that we had to close schools for safety reasons and to keep people off the street to help Sanitation's effort," the mayor said.
"You've got to make a decision with the facts you have. I'm very comfortable that this was the right decision," de Blasio said.
Cuomo, flanked by state officials at a morning press conference, said while he initially expected things to be much worse in New York City, the storm surprised him.
"Mother nature is an unpredictable lady sometimes. She was unpredictable once again," Cuomo said.
But he urged people to remain cautious because temperatures will remain in the low 30s and winds will gust up to 55 mph, according to forecasters.
"Stay inside. View this one from the window. It's very beautiful from the window. It's not as beautiful when you step outside. Trust me. I've been there," Cuomo said.
But many people didn't heed the governor's warning.
Jack Sullivan, 20, of St. Louis, was in town visiting a friend at Columbia and decided to take the opportunity for a run through Central Park.
"I like to run and I felt like, what better way to experience New York than run in a blizzard? I just thought it would be a fun opportunity to see Central Park in a different light," Sullivan said.
Jack Sullivan takes a run in the snowstorm. (DNAinfo/Maya Rajamani)
