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Despite whipping winds and heavy snow, dogs need to poop and pee. So as Manhattan’s West Village streets started turning white this evening, dogs and their owners were taking care of business.

“It’s not like I really want to take them out, it’s because I have to,” said Riley Samson, 18, of the West Village. “My dog needs to pee and poo and do other stuffs outside, so I’m taking her out.”

Samson was out with her brown female Labradoodle, Wizhtle. Walking along them was Samson’s childhood friend, Annabel Newman, with her neighbor’s dog, Zack.

“The case is a little different for me, I got paid for walking Zack,” said Newman, 18, also of the West Village. For her service, she got $25 for one hour walk.

While Zack was curiously and carefully observing the snow, Wizhtle was exuberant. She wanted to explore every nook and crannie of the street and was vigorously sniffing around.

“It gets difficult sometimes to hold her because she’s got too excited with the snow,” said Samson. “I have to grip the leash tightly and be really careful with my steps too.”

Unlike other fashionable dogs in New York, Zack and Wizhtle did not wear sweater or dog boots.

“She’s a big dog and she wouldn’t let me put a sweater on her,” said Samson. “After all, she doesn’t need one.”

“The only thing that concerns us is the salt they use on the snow,” said Newman. “Zack’s owner has been telling everyone around the neighbor to use blue salt.”

Salt used as ice melt can damage dogs’ paws, leading to infection. Even worse, if dogs lick their paws and ingest the chemically unhealthy substance, it could be poisonous for them.

The two childhood friends walked around the neighborhood for almost one hour, before calling it a day as the sun set.

“I’m actually preparing for it to be colder,” said Newman.

She wore her ski jacket, snow pants and snow boots.

“I feel like everyone is freaking out for no reason,” said Newman.

Her mother had stocked up food and had thought of filling the tub in case they run out of water.

“But then, maybe we are underreacting to it,” Samson reminded Newman that today is going to be the first time subways were shut down because of snow.

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Greenpoint Voices

New Yorkers braced for what Mayor Bill DeBlasio has warned could be the largest snowstorm in city’s history Monday, with forecast wind gusts of 50 miles per hour and up to three feet of snow accumulation. The Mayor urged New Yorkers to return home before Monday evening rush hour to avoid blustering winds, dangerously low visibility, and treacherous roads.

As the colossal Nor’easter dubbed Juno rushed headlong into the Northeastern Seaboard Monday afternoon, Brooklynites weren’t taking any chances. At a packed Associated Supermarket in Greenpoint, residents like Bonnie Class girded themselves for worst-case scenarios.

Bonnie Class of Greenpoint, Brooklyn stocks up essentials before Juno hits. Photo by Neil Giardino.

“I’m actually from Florida – a lot of hurricanes there – so, I’m getting ready, getting basic stuff. A lot of crackers, some fruit, some bread, just some stuff to last three or four days I guess.” Her plans for the evening: “Stay in and not work,” she said.

As snow began to blanket bustling Manhattan Avenue, retailers like Charlie Shaw, owner of Cheap Charlie’s, weren’t put out by the threat of massive snowdrifts and slick roads. “Most of my business for the snowstorm will be the salt, the shovels, the car cleaning and windshield wiper fluids. I’ll come in tomorrow too because I know people are going to look for this stuff in the morning,” he said.

In previous years Mr. Shaw said he has run out of de-icing salt during major storms, but this year he’s banking on moving a lot of it. He’s stocked a surplus in anticipation of winter storms like Juno.

In expectation of the worst, the MTA tweeted a readiness to shut down all train and bus service, along with Metro North and Long Island Rail Road trains by 11pm at the behest of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. As mass transit hunkers down for a blizzard predicted to pummel the city, Greenpoint resident Emily Guthrie wasn’t fazed.

“I’m from the Midwest, it snows a lot. I think New Yorkers freak out a little too much about it,” she said. Still, Guthrie thought it wise to stock up on a few items at the C-Town Supermarket on Manhattan Avenue just in case.

Polemost Liquor clerk Thomas Dunne salts the entryway of this business. Photo by Neil Giardino.

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For many students living in New York City for the first time, alerts of “Snowmageddon 2015” or #NYCBlizzard is something new to experience.

“This is nothing like Dubai,” said Markus Zakaria, a music technology grad student at NYU who lives on campus. He has gone from growing up in Dubai to pursuing his undergraduate degree in Florida, where he’s no stranger to the heat. Here in NYC however, it’s a little different this time of year.

“So far I’m enjoying it. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this,” he said. “It’s not too cold just yet, but I hear it’s going to get worse.”

Two to three feet of snow is expected to fall by Tuesday night but he’s not getting too worried.

While it seems like the rest of New York is in a state of panic, Zakaria is looking on the bright side.

“Coming from a hot place to a cold place, I actually prefer this,” he said. “You can always put more clothes on, but there’s only so much you can remove when it’s too hot.”

It’s a good thing he likes to wear layers, as New Yorkers must bundle up in those heavy jackets and scarves this week. Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency Monday afternoon, warning people to stay safe at home. The MTA also announced that all bus, commuter rail and subway services would be suspended at 11 p.m. Monday night.

NYU students received multiple emails, texts and notifications of closures and cancelled classes and Zakaria is excited to get to fully experience the snow in the city.

While New York residents are preparing for the storm by stocking up on food, water and supplies, Zakaria feels like he’s ready. He said he’s stocked up and has snow boots at hand, but since he hasn’t seen it that bad yet, he isn’t too sure what to expect.

Lines at grocery stores have been incredibly long, as seen throughout social media, and shelves are emptying, all to get ready for the blizzard that’s been named Juno.

For Zakaria, he’s seeing more good than bad so far and he’s just living in the moment.

“I can’t see how it would be horrible, but I guess we’ll see how this day goes,” he said. “I’m looking forward to building snowmen and snow angels though.”

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Monday afternoon, when most have been urged to stay indoors, some of Lower Manhattan’s food truck operators are braving Winter Storm Juno and going to work anyway.

Kale Alfageh cupped his hands together, pressed them firmly against his lips, breathed deeply and muttered, “I hate this, I hate the snow.”

Alfageh, 48, has been operating The Coffee Place breakfast food truck on the corner of Mercer and Washington Street for six months now. He noted his distrust of weather reporting as his primary reason for setting up shop.

“Cause you know sometimes they say it’s going to be something and it ends up being something else,” said Alfageh. “ Last year they said there was going to be too much snow to go out and I didn’t work. The weather was actually really nice that day and I lost a lot of money. This happened three or four times so now I always go.”

Mia Alumghed, 50, who works out of the Halal food truck on the corner of Astor Place and Broadway, expressed a tone similar to Alfageh’s.

“Business on days like this is always terrible,” says Alumghed. “But it’s not really worth not going.”

“I’ve seen it all,” said Alumghed, who has worked out of his truck for five years now. “The weather has been worse, but the regulars still come.”

Despite the steady flow of steam rolling out the window of his truck the storm had Alfageh pining for the warmth of his home country. “I’m from Egypt and it never, never, never snows in Egypt,” he said. “Egypt has the best weather in all the world”.

Although Alfageh was thinking of Egypt, some of his regulars were thrilled to see him coming out to open up shop despite the bad weather.

“I really am thankful,” says Jessica Thomas of Queens. “The guys are always so nice and friendly no matter what the weather is. Whether it’s raining, or snowing, or a hundred degrees outside”.

Thomas, who works as an administrator in New York University’s psychology department, was happy that as everyone was heading inside there was still somewhere to grab a snack.

“They’re so close to the office,” she said as she pointed to the building she works in. “and I almost never see them packing it up.”

As the wind picked up, the snow began to stick to the ground. Alfageh looked out the window of his truck and said, “I plan to leave at 5, but we’ll have to see how the weather looks before I go anywhere.”

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Only a little over two years removed from the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, New Yorkers were flooding the supermarkets as Winter Storm Juno was beginning its decent on the city.

“It wasn’t this bad, I don’t think so. Sandy was different because by the time we realized how serious it was, everything was cleaned out,” said Mary Vays, Tudor City. “It’s a good thing, we all know what happened during Sandy.”

Vays, 42, was shopping for her daughter and husband at a mobbed Fairway Market in Murray Hill today. The large supermarket chain’s supplies were running low at 2 p.m., and the line for the register spanned halfway across the border of the store.

Mary Vays ,42, waits on a long line for the cash register at Fairway Market on second avenue. Photo Credit: Ben Shapiro

“I just walked around, and I have never seen a line this long, it’s crazy,” said Vays, who has been living in the same neighborhood for seven years.

Despite the rush of customers before the heavy snowfall, the excessive register line, which spanned almost 50 yards back and merged with the group of customers eagerly awaiting cold cuts, moved rather swiftly and did not appear to take longer than 15 minutes. The store’s employees got people in and out of the market, but there was still only a limited supply of food for its patrons. Vays, who keeps kosher, was disappointed but not overly surprised to see the limited kosher section out of food.

“The kosher section was cleaned out, so out of luck there,” said Vays, who teaches Fashion Design at three different colleges in the city. “The kosher section was very upsetting. All the Jews came and took all the food, it’s been cleaned out for a while now,” Vays joked.

Although she was unable to buy any meat products for her family, Vays was able to secure pertinent food items, which in her mind included water, cereal and milk. She was not alone in purchasing water from the supermarket, as almost every customer on line had varying amounts of bottled water in their cart. Unique to Vays’ cart though was baby formula, which like any new mother was atop her shopping list.

“My first reaction was to find baby formula because I have a newborn at home, and then come out and get stuff that we might need for the apartment,” said Vays.

Going to the supermarket is not the only way Vays plans on preparing for Winter Storm Juno. After listening to weather experts she plans on removing items near the windows because winds are projected to be high. With snow already beginning to fall as she was concluding her shopping, Vays trusts meteorologist’s predictions regarding the incoming storm.

“I don’t think they are going to make a huge mistake, maybe a few inches here or there,” said Vays. “With technology as it is these days, I believe they will be able to forecast how much we are getting.”

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On a day when the wind was blistering and powerful enough to physically push your body along snow-covered sidewalks and herds of New Yorkers were out stocking up on last-minute groceries, Sarah Berman wasn’t panicking.

Berman, 36, a resident of Fort Greene in Brooklyn, was casually reading the ingredients on a box of pasta at the NYC Fresh Market on the corner of Gold Street and Myrtle Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn just after noon today.

She said she was planning a dinner party for this evening and needed last-minute ingredients for a hearty lasagna.

“I actually really hate this store,” Berman said. “It feels like a death trap and everything is about to fall in on you. But the other store that I went to [Red Apple] didn’t have two of my key dinner ingredients for the evening and I didn’t want to make two stops so I just came back over here for a quick shopping trip.”

With a few items in her cart, she said she was surprised at how few people were shopping in Fresh Market. The first grocery store that she went to in Brooklyn didn’t have any lines; while NYC Fresh Market had six registers open with one line.

The small, underground food store was semi-crowded as people walked between thin aisles and hovered around the deli, bakery and produce sections, reading food labels and questioning whether a gallon of Elmhurst Dairy milk for $4.79 was worth it. The store wasn’t overcrowded, with roughly 30 shoppers, but it was evident that people were stocking their cabinets.

Readying for her dinner to go on as planned, Berman said she doesn’t usually stress about snowstorms and wasn’t worried about the so-called paralyzing storm that has been predicted to dump up to two feet of snow on the city through Tuesday evening.

“It’s colder than I thought it was going to be so my ears were a little chilly, but yeah I’m really not that worried about it,” she said. “I’m guessing we’re going to get about 14 inches in this neighborhood. If you don’t have to get behind the wheel of a car and the subways are running, you’ll be surprised [at] how alive and active this city remains even under the worst possible circumstances.”

She said the media tends to blow up weather issues.

“And you know jokes on me if I end up with no water, but I really just don’t think that that’s going to be an issue,” Berman said.

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Residents were bundling up and stocking up this morning to prepare for what New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio predicted will be the worst snowstorm in the city’s history. With a high chance of power outages, halted traffic, and over two feet of snow predicted, it was mayhem at the markets.

Morton Williams grocery store in Greenwich Village, was filled with anxious shoppers trying to stock up with flurries already coming down. Lines wrapped around the perimeter of the store as customers scrambled to grab what was left.

“I’m scared and the fact that everyone else is so scared just makes it more terrifying,” said new Soho resident Shallen Ferreira, 27, who moved to the city two weeks ago from Mexico with her husband.

She heard that most stores were closing between noon and 2 p.m. and didn’t want to be stuck home without food. She said the store was already falling behind demand and that she was having trouble finding items as simple as deli meats.

“The first thing I grabbed was water and Dr. Pepper,” she said. “I have Dr. Pepper first thing in the morning, it’s my coffee.”

Having grown up in St. Louis, Mo., Ferreira is no stranger to snow, but not the up to two feet forecasters are predicting.

Losing electricity was the least of her worries.

“We had a few outlets out so I left the electrician, a complete stranger, at my house with my cat who attacks people,” said Ferreira,as she placed packaged meats in her cart. “I hope I don’t go home to see he robbed me blind.”

With minimal taxis and cars on the roads, Ferreira is worried about how her husband will get home from work later tonight. It is mostly delivery trucks and snow removal vehicles.

“We didn’t use the subways in Mexico, they were considered dangerous, she said. “But it’s hard to keep spending $30 on a taxi each day, and today you can barely find one.”

Although Ferreira is not a fan of the snow she told her husband that if they can get the door to open she would build a snowman on their terrace.

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