STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Staten Island’s snowfall totals fell short of the 7-to-9-inch forecasts issued by the National Weather Service. Still, they were perfect for hundreds of children and adults who enjoyed sledding down the hill in Clove Lakes Park.
The large hill along Martling Avenue has been a popular sledding spot for generations of children. Even the city Parks Department lists the hill at Martling and Slosson as a top sledding location!
Lauren Ducalo, a 50-year-old resident of Westerleigh, has fond memories of her parents taking her and her brother sledding down the hill as a child, and now continues the tradition with her own children.
She said, “This is like a rite of passage, everybody does this hill, so you have to bring your kids to do it at least once.”
Hay bales line the bottom of the hill to stop runaway sleds. Ducalo said, “Although there used to be more hay bales, parents were petrified that their kids were going to go underneath a parked car. Everybody hit a car at least once.”
Children could be seen sledding on all types of sleds, including modern plastic toboggans, snowboards, snow tubes, and a classic Flexible Flyer Steel Runner sled.
Daisy Dominguez from New Dorp, and her son Jacob, 7, arrived with one of the most extraordinary sleds.
With stores sold out of sleds, she improvised, noting that a baking sheet’s design made it a better option than other household items like a trash can lid.
“He really wanted to come sledding, so I’m like, this would slide. We tried it out, and he went flying. He loves it,” Dominguez explained.
Lauren Raimondi, from Westerleigh, brought her three sons out to enjoy the snow. It is the first time her youngest son, 2-year-old Rocco, has gone sledding on his own.
Raimondi said, “He’s having the time of his life. He wants to go down like a maniac. Fast, fast. And my other two boys are also daredevils, with their new sleighs from grandpa. So they’re having a blast too.”