On Jan. 25, St. John’s University closed all of their New York Campuses due to Winter Storm Jonas that hit New York City two days prior.
Winter Storm Jonas coated the East Coast this past weekend, causing cities like New York City to have strict travel bans. Governor Cuomo set a travel ban in place on Saturday. The ban ended at 7 a.m. on Sunday.
Junior advertising major, Stephen Troiano, didn’t agree with the University’s decision to close on Monday.
“Mondays are very busy days for me,” he said. “I have four classes and I thought Monday was a pretty nice day outside. Personally, I’d rather have been in class.”
Senior photojournalism major Diana Colapietro had a different perspective on St. John’s closing for the day.
“The campus closing on Monday didn’t really impact my class schedule” she said. “I don’t have any classes, it was kind of a buzz kill because what’s a snow day without classes?”
The Weather Channel reported out of the five boroughs that Jackson Heights, Queens was hit the hardest with 34 inches of snow. Jamaica, Queens following after with reportedly receiving 30.5 inches of snowfall.
Many New York City residents in both the Bronx and Queens woke up Sunday to unplowed streets, even after complaining the streets went untouched by New York City Department of Sanitation on Monday as well.
“I commute from Brooklyn by using public transit, it usually takes me an hour to get to campus because I have to take two trains and get on the Q46 bus,” Troiano said. “Today it took me over an hour and a half. It was pretty bad. The sidewalks weren’t shoveled properly or at all in some areas.”
The New York Post reported Queens as “basically forgotten during Winter Storm Jonas.” Mayor Bill de Blasio admitted they failed to do enough to clear the 34 inches of snow off the roads, stranding hundreds of thousands.
“If I’m living in the neighborhoods I mentioned like the streets I saw in Sunnyside, Woodside, I’m not going to be happy this morning, I’m not going to be satisfied,” de Blasio told the Post.
“I commute from Franklin Square, Long Island, which is about a 30 minute drive without traffic. About 12 miles and I have to take three highways,” Colapietro said. “Today it took me about 45 minutes to get to campus. The roads were not that bad today. Yesterday was bad, I was going to a train station that is about five minutes from my house and it took me an hour to get there because everything was backed up. Coming to St. John’s, it wasn’t that bad. It was a little dangerous on Grand Central; there were no entrance lanes.”
The Weather Channel reported that there are at least 48 dead along the east coast from Winter Storm Jonas. In New York City there have been 17 reported deaths related to the winter storm.
