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Residents are stocking up on supplies, the school day has been shortened and city crews are on high alert as Yonkers awaits the arrival of a winter storm The Weather Channel has dubbed “Nemo.”
City officials announced Thursday they will suspend parking meters and alternate street side parking on Friday. A number of Department of Parks, Recreation & Conservation activities and all programs for the Office for the Aging have been cancelled as well.
“For the safety of our residents, the City of Yonkers is proactively cancelling its scheduled programs and services due to the expected storm,” Mayor Mike Spano said. “I urge all our residents to avoid unnecessary travel, and exercise caution if they do have to drive.”
The National Weather Service has said the chance Yonkers will see precipitation is 100 percent during the day Friday, bringing three to five inches of snow. The worst of the storm is expected to hit the city overnight Friday, with blustery wind gusts as high as 37 miles per hour and as much as eight to 12 inches of additional snow accumulation.
City officials said crews will begin salting roads overnight Thursday and continue as needed as conditions worsen Friday.
“All the equipment and vehicles are prepped at this point,” Christina Gilmartin, spokeswoman for Spano’s office said Thursday evening. “We are monitoring the storm as reports are continually updated and our works force will be out and ready.”
Yonkers Public Schools announced all schools would operate a half-day schedule Friday due to the weather forecast. Schools that begin at 7:30 a.m. will be dismissed at 11 a.m., while schools that begin at 8:30 a.m. will end at noon. There will also be no morning or afternoon pre-kindergarten classes.
In anticipation of the winter weather, residents were stocking up on shovels, supplies and sleds.
“We’ve been packed,” said Eric Marden, manager at Marden Hardware on Yonkers Avenue. “We haven’t had a storm like this in two years. It’s about time.”
Marden said he expects the store to see crowds Friday and into Saturday morning as late-comers rush to grab supplies.
“A lot of people don’t believe it till they see it,” he said.
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