A white (week before) Christmas

The first blizzard of the season hit Long Beach last Saturday with 12.5 inches of snow that sidelined weekend plans for some, but gave others the perfect excuse to sit by a fireplace.

“I cleared the driveway with my two boys and spent the rest of the day with a nice fire and watching John Wayne movies,” said resident Anthony Ponte.

Scott Parker noticed some holiday good will on Long Beach’s snowy streets. “All the neighbors were outside talking and helping each other out with the shoveling and digging out cars,” he said.

The weather forced Ed Farrell to cancel dinner plans with a special someone, and Philip Hardwood was snowbound and missed two days of work.

“Given the considerable quantity of snow that fell, I think our crews and their supervisors did an incredible job,” Long Beach City Manager Charles Theofan said of the city’s plowing efforts.

But not all residents agree with his assessment. “Even though I saw plows down my block multiple times, the streets were in very bad shape,” said East End resident and Herald employee Alyson Goodman.

Sadna Sarren, an East Fulton Street resident, said she received three parking tickets for violating alternate side parking rules and claims her street is in such poor condition that there was no where else to park. “I haven’t seen the plow come through,” she said. “In front of everyone’s house are piles of snow.” Theofan said the city’s Web site noted that alternate side parking was not suspended to allow for snow removal.

Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.