When I heard New York City was expecting another blizzard, my first thought was: This time, I'm going sledding.
Growing up in a city in New Zealand where it didn't snow, I never had the opportunity to go sledding as a kid. Earlier this year, during our first huge snowstorm, I saw New Yorkers headed to the city's hilliest parks for a day of fun, carrying everything from skis to sheet pans. Somehow, I blew it. Instead, I cozied up with the cats and enviously scrolled through photos on social media of kids (and plenty of adults) catching air in local parks.
So today, when Mayor Zohran Mamdani finally followed through on his promise to give the kids of New York City a real snow day, I vowed that I wouldn’t let the opportunity to sled for the first time pass me by again. There was only one problem: I don't have a sled.
Full of faith in the generosity of my fellow New Yorkers, I headed to Fort Greene park sledless, but armed with my journalistic power of speaking to complete strangers. In this case, I planned on asking them, "Can I borrow your sled?"