Weather: Cold, windy and wet. See below for details.
Alternate-side parking: Suspended today because of snow removal.
New York City residents who braced for the season’s first winter storm are waking up to a city that is salted and brined, but not snow-covered.
While New York City’s nearby suburbs saw two to nearly 10 inches of snow, the city itself was mostly just wet from rain.
A winter weather advisory was in effect until 7 a.m. today for the area.
[A sloppy rush hour yesterday in the New York region.]
At a news conference before the bulk of yesterday’s storm, Mayor de Blasio reiterated that the city had improved its preparedness since November 2018, when an early winter storm wreaked havoc on the evening commute.
There are now more weather-monitoring devices to make sense of incoming data, the mayor said. There is also a new meteorologist in the city’s Office of Emergency Management
Here are the latest effects from the storm
The snow: New York City was forecast to get two to four inches of snow yesterday, according to the National Weather Service, but as of 7 p.m. yesterday only one inch had fallen in Central Park (at 5 a.m. today, that was the most recent measurement provided by the Weather Service).
The most snowfall recorded in the city on a Dec. 2 was 3.9 inches in 1929.
The temperature: Today will start in low 30s, and by the afternoon the mercury in the city may be near 40 degrees, which is just a bit lower than usual for this time of year. Brace for strong winds that will make it feel colder.
The schools: New York City public schools are open today, and after-school programs will continue as scheduled.
Transit: As of 5 a.m., most commuter train service in the region was running on time or close to on time. Still, check for delays on Metro-North, the Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit before leaving home.
As for the roads, New York City’s Sanitation Department spread liquid brine on highway ramps yesterday, and salt spreaders were dispatched on streets.
The airports: Hundreds of flights had been canceled as of yesterday afternoon, with many of the scrubbed flights at the airports serving New York and Boston. Delays in the New York area had ranged from 90 minutes to over three hours.
A few interruptions continued this morning; check the status of your flight with your airline. As of 5 a.m., there were delays of 15 minutes or less at Kennedy International, La Guardia and Newark Liberty International Airports.
Bring a favorite dish from Katie Parla’s “Food of the Italian South” for the cookbook club at Archestratus Books and Foods in Brooklyn. 7 p.m. [Free with R.S.V.P.]
Join Phil Chan, co-founder of Final Bow for Yellowface, for “China Chic: Orientalist Representations in Western Performing Arts,” at the Museum at F.I.T. in Manhattan. 6 p.m. [Free with R.S.V.P.]
— Melissa Guerrero
Events are subject to change, so double-check before heading out. For more events, see the going-out guides from The Times’s culture pages.
And finally: Who shaped the subway map?
New York City is as much a state of mind as it is a geographical location. So making a map of its subways required more than pencils and rulers.
Here’s the story behind the enduring subway map, which has helped New Yorkers and tourists traverse the city at the center of the universe.
In 1979, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority hired a firm, Michael Hertz and Associates, to create a neat, elegant map out of New York’s sprawling labyrinth of train lines. The primary designer was Nobuyuki Siraisi.
He may have seemed like an unlikely fit: Mr. Siraisi had trained as a sculptor and a painter. But the subway map needed graceful reorganizing.
Earlier maps relied on straight lines, which riders found disorienting, according to studies conducted by a psychologist who helped the redesign effort, Arline Bronzaft. So Mr. Siraisi went to work — by riding every train line, with his eyes closed, feeling the curve of each track. Then he drew the paths he perceived in his sketchbook.
Mr. Siraisi also associated the train lines with colors, so they could be more easily identified verbally.
And to simplify the map, he used a single “trunk” line to show trains that run parallel to one another (like the 4, 5 and 6 trains on the East Side of Manhattan).
When the map was digitized in 1998, a few quirks were produced. Some street lines ended abruptly. Some parks were quickly drawn, creating what appears to be a sliver of beach. (Look closely at the waterfront near the East Broadway stop on the F line in Manhattan.)
And some street names didn’t line up exactly with the white lines representing those streets (for example, 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue).
It’s Tuesday — enjoy the journey.
Metropolitan Diary: Studious
Dear Diary:
I was on a crowded downtown No. 6 train just below 86th Street at around 10:15 a.m. A young man with slicked-back hair and polished shoes was studiously flipping through what looked like a stack of dog-eared flash cards.
I edged closer to see what he was studying. A new language? Actuarial formulas?
“Vieux Carré,” one of the meticulously handwritten index cards said.
So, I thought, he’s studying French.
“Manhattan,” said another.
Maybe early U.S. history.
“Old Fashioned,” said a third.
I smiled. He was cramming for his bartender’s exam.
— Amy Parsons
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