A week after the snowstorm, neighbors help neighbors in DC
It’s been a week since heavy snow and ice pummeled the D.C. region. While many residents spent days shoveling paths back to a normal life, others also looked after their neighbors.
There were many in the D.C.’s Brookland neighborhood who not only lent a helping hand to their neighbors, they also brought tools.
Mike Chaney, a native of Cleveland, said he’s no stranger to snow.
“This has been the worst. It’s just the thickness, the hardness,” Chaney said. “We got to band together sometimes, grab a shovel to break up the ice.”
Chaney has spent more than 12 hours over the past few days breaking up snow and clearing crosswalks in his neighborhood. He told WTOP all the effort has been causing him to sleep soundly afterward.
Across the street clearing another crosswalk was Chian Gavin, who has lived in D.C. for nearly 40 years. She told WTOP that she has never seen a snowstorm like this.
Not only does she want to help make walking in her neighborhood safe for her and her neighbors, Gavin said she has plans she refuses to miss.
“I have Zumba on Monday. I’m getting to Zumba on Monday,” Gavin said with a laugh.
A few blocks down clearing a sidewalk was Tatiana Marquez. She is part of D.C.’s Volunteer Snow Program, the Snow Team Heroes.
“This is just one of two that I signed up for,” Marquez told WTOP. “So this one looks like it would be a good hour.”
Marquez said had checked with the person who lived at the house she was standing in front of and said learned her help was needed getting the sidewalk cleared.
On a side street were Stacy Strong and Bryan McDermott. They were breaking apart chunks of ice that appeared as if they could have been from an iceberg.
Strong told WTOP it took her three days to get her car free of the snow and ice and now she was helping McDermott.
“It’s a good workout. It’s hard to get to the gym. There’s no place to park, so it’s actually a good way to get out there and get some exercise,” McDermott told WTOP.
Close by on Michigan Ave. in Northeast vehicles were lined up around the block in front of Turkey Thicket Recreation Center, which was one of five pop-up ice distribution centers set up by the mayor’s office.
“Mayor Bowser, she has galvanized volunteers and workers from just about every agency in the city,” Kera Tyler, chief of external affairs for D.C. Public Schools told WTOP. “They’re thanking us for digging in these salt piles and filling up their trunks, and we’re happy to do it.”
One of those in line was Arturo Alford. He drove his Chevrolet Tahoe to pick up salt for not only himself but also his parents.
While he believes that D.C. could have done a better job with snow removal, he said the salt giveaway helps, and he told WTOP he was impressed with how organized the event was at the distribution center.
“I only had to wait 20 minutes, not bad,” said Alford.