SCRANTON, Pa. — In Scranton, it looks like people are staying off the roads. There was the occasional car but really only plow trucks were coming through the downtown Monday morning.
We found lots of people clearing sidewalks and trying to stay on top of the accumulating snow.
Parking is banned in downtown Scranton to allow the city's DPW the space to plow later on.
While Lackawanna County employees were working to clear snow from Courthouse Square, John McDonald was across the street shoveling the sidewalk outside his Subway store.
"I had a conversation with a customer at 7:00 this morning, it's like, going through all of this over the course of the past year and now we're going to deal with a snowstorm for two of three days. It's like, what else, how much more are they going to throw at us? But, we'll grin and bear it, we'll get through it," said McDonald.
It won't be a big day for business with so much of Scranton shut down during the snowstorm but it's something.
Meat in the Middle Delicatessen next door had the same idea.
"Oh, absolutely, absolutely," said Lisa Senuk at Meat in the Middle Delicatessen. "I know a lot of buildings downtown are closed, the federal building is closed. But there are still some offices open, so I want to make sure I'm here for the people who still want to eat lunch today."
Senuk says the pandemic has hurt business and this nor'easter certainly won't help. It may have been more comfortable to stay home and enjoy a snow day but even in this weather, there is money to be made.
"COVID hit and, you know, we're seeing 25 percent of our business and we're doing everything to keep it open. I don't want to close my doors, but, I'm just doing everything I can to stay afloat right now."
PennDOT has urged folks to stay off the road unless it's necessary to travel and the mayor here in Scranton has warned residents that the DPW will be focused on snow removal on Monday and Tuesday and that will likely mean a delay in garbage pickup.