TOW #16 - "NYC grinds to a halt amid deadly East Coast blizzard"

#Snowpocalypse Jonas touched down on the northeast coast on Friday afternoon. Starting in DC on Friday at noon, the blizzard raged through up the coast. The massive winter storm ground life to a halt, as upwards on 3 feet of snow accumulated on the grounds. Jonas even forced a vehicle travel ban in New York City. The storm also closed rail/subway service and shut down theaters as higher-than-forecast snowfall inundated the metropolitan area. USA Today writer, Kevin McCoy, reported on life in the Big Apple as the second-largest storm in city history raged on. As it raged into late Saturday night, the storm proved deadly as three had snow shovelers died of apparent heart-related injuries, according to the chief of the NYPD. New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced the travel ban during an afternoon briefing after he issued an emergency declaration for southeastern New York. The ban applied to all motor travel, except for government or medical emergency vehicles. Beginning at 2:30 pm, New Yorkers who braved the snow had to travel by foot on the vehicle-free streets. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio warned, "If you're a citizen out driving, you will be subject to arrest." But NYC is full of rule breakers, as filmmaker Casey Neistat and friends equipped their Jeep with cables out the back; equipped for pulling snowboarders. Neistat took the opportunity of somewhat cleared streets and empty roads to snowboard while attached to the moving car. The vehicle-free streets were not free of people though, as many New Yorkers spotted Neistat boarding through Times Square and other parts of NYC. NY's unique aura shined through Neistat and friends, as nothing, not the travel ban nor the NYPD they encountered, stopped them from having the time of their lives. With the storm passed, east coasters are left to shovel their ways back to everyday life, as the first snowfall of winter brought massive piles of the white "dust."