ilona gutcher

barking dog, a neighborhood restaurant in the upper east side, nyc.

Winter finally arrives in NYC as snow falls across the city.

Yesterday morning, New Yorkers woke up to a layer of sparkling white covering the city’s streets: the first snow of 2012 had arrived! When it snows in New York, the city slows down and, as we saw last year, is sometimes even brought to a standstill. Not wanting to miss the magical atmosphere of the city under snow, I bundled up and left the apartment by 8 30 am. Even better, it was still snowing!

Not being a morning person, I’m not sure how much hustle and bustle there usually is this early on a Saturday morning. Without a doubt, dog walkers are out and about and that was certainly no different this particular morning. The dogs were in their element, leaping excitedly through the snow, clearly demonstrating that the joys of snow aren’t limited to humans. Several of the dogs even had little snow booties wrapped around their feet to keep them warm and dry. Quite fancy, I have to say, but they are Upper East Side dogs after all.

After buying a latte and a pain au chocolat (so far, the best one I’ve had in NYC) at Juliano’s, I made my way to Central Park. Along the way, I came across a man with two striking Alaskan Klee Kai dogs, which were impossible to walk past without stopping.

bob gallagher, a professional dog walker and two beautiful alaskan klee kais.

Bob Gallagher, a professional dog walker, was very friendly and we chatted for at least 20 minutes about dogs and the dangers of dog walking in NYC. He talked passionately about his job and was eager to have his photo taken with the two beautiful Alaskan Klee Kais. In his own words, “Where would we be without dogs?”

manhattan half-marathon 2012 runners in central park, nyc.

Upon entering the park at 5th Avenue, I spotted a stream of people running in a line. I was quite surprised at the numbers given the weather: does nothing stop New Yorkers from running? I quickly realized that the Manhattan Half-Marathon was taking place and the competitors, most of whom did turn up, were doing a fantastic job of not slipping in the snow. Apart from the race, other hard-core individuals were braving the chill and the snow to accomplish their weekend run. Rather them than me!

Central park was also the common destination for families and groups of kids, who were flocking there with their sledges in tow. I never noticed how hilly Central Park is until I started running there but, for sure, there are some damn good hills for sledging!

With some foresight, the Park authorities had placed protective haystacks in front of benches and fire hydrants lying at the bottom of some of the more popular slopes. Just as well considering the alarming speed at which some of the kids were hurtling down.

New York City is a special place but, when it snows, it really is magical. Here’s to the next snowstorm!

To see more photos click: New York City in Snow
Photographs: Güney Cüceloğlu