Dear Editor,
Over the last several days, greater New York area has been facing life-threatening freezing conditions approaching record low temperatures after a relatively warm Fall/Winter through the end of December. The severe penetrating frost sweeping the greater NY area since Friday has put a damper on routine activities (shopping, worship, entertainment, sports) among the large Guyanese community. The arctic snap has been accompanied with blustery winds. Shops saw a decline in business. And everywhere I visited, people complained of the bitter cold with the gusty wind so powerful that it could blow one away and shake light vehicles, even forcing some off the road.
Outdoor conditions were very dangerous. Several states and cities in the northeast had record low temperatures with New York reaching or approaching a 100- year-old record. It was indeed a brutally bone chilling from Friday through Monday morning. Even while walking, or inside a car, the toes felt frozen. And without gloves for a minute, the fingers were almost frozen and could not be felt. People avoided going outside unless they really needed to like going to work or for some emergency, or acquiring necessary food items. Socializing outside was out of the question this past weekend and the Guyanese community heeded public warnings. Guyanese kids who normally go out to play ball with their friends or ‘hang out’ outside stayed home. And with schools closed for a week-long mid-winter recess, the youngsters are tied in although temperatures are expected to rise by Tuesday melting ice that has formed from snow and rain a week ago.
Frost is a problem everywhere. Guyanese say even windows of heated homes and vehicles were frosty. Weather experts say it is the coldest air mass of this winter bringing the thermometer down to teens Fahrenheit with up to minus 25 degrees caused by heavy blustery winds. One Guyanese adult male said when the powerful wind hit his face, it felt like “a razor cut it”.
Weather experts warn people to take extreme precautions against wind chill that can cause frostbite and even death. Medical experts warn that the extreme low temperatures can be life threatening for the vulnerable like seniors, infants and people with medical conditions. The Mayor advised people to stay indoors if they can. Guyanese had not had many reasons to complain about the weather till a month ago. Indeed, there have not been too many complaints about the Fall and Winter seasons. Summer or late spring-like like warm temperatures persisted through the Fall. Gardens (flowers and vegetables) bloomed through the end of December giving home gardens extra produce and hot peppers. Very cold temperatures did not come till mid-January. A snow blizzard hit the city towards the end of January with over two feet of snow and the city recovered quickly with rising temperatures. This was followed by a drop in temperature and a couple of mini-snowstorms in early February, and now there is the deep weekend frost all of which combined have restricted community activities among Guyanese.
This cold weather, in particular, has tied down the Guyanese seniors in the greater Richmond Hill community from getting out to enjoy the parks and outdoor activities as well as events organized for them at various centres. There was virtually no one out liming on the streets or the parks. Usually on the weekends, men can be seen drinking liquor or beers in the streets of Jamaica and Richmond Hill; that was not observed over the weekend. Virtually everyone was indoors. And there were no homeless in the streets; at times, a few drunken Guyanese were seen sprawled on the pavement. The city sent out vehicles to pick up homeless and take them to shelters. No one was seen in the cold in the bitter, nasty frost conditions.
Overall, this was likely the coldest Valentine’s Day on record for much of the Northeast. A visit to the commercial areas (shops, bars and restaurants) of Queens saw limited business activities over the Valentine weekend when shopping is usually at its peak for cakes, cards, roses, and gift items as it is the first traditional commercial festival of the year among Americans. Restaurants also looked forward for packed tables on Valentine Day. Instead, there has been widespread disappointment in revenues in the Guyanese business community.
It was a lacklustre weekend even for spirituality. Mandirs and churches had very low turnout for Sunday morning services. At several places of worship, services ended early.
Guyanese, like other communities, are hoping for an early end to the bitter cold winter season.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
