Winter Storm Gail in Central Park (PHOTOS/VIDEOS).

Thursday, December 17, 2020. New York City – I love snow. I went to Central Park to enjoy the first big snowfall of the year. I think winter storm Gail will be the last big snowfall of 2020.

According to Weather.com, “Ten inches of snow has been measured at Central Park as of Thursday morning.”

Winter storm Gail blasted New York City Wednesday afternoon to Thursday morning with heavy snow and gusty winds.

“The heaviest snow totals from this storm will most likely be in a zone from central and northeast Pennsylvania to parts of the Hudson Valley and southern and central New England. Snowfall totals will likely exceed 1 foot and could locally top 2 feet in a few areas.

Two all-time snowfall records have been broken. Binghamton, New York, reported 39.6 inches which broke their previous record of 35.3 inches from Winter Storm Stella in March 2017. Williamsport, Pennsylvania, measured 24.7 inches which topped their previous record from Jan. 12-13, 1964, of 24.1 inches,” Weather.com says.

Manahatta

Manhattan’s original inhabitants were the Lenape. They called the island Manahatta, which means “Hilly Island.”

“The Lenape people lived all over the Northeastern Woodlands, what we would today call Canada, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania along the Delaware River watershed, New York City, western Long Island, and the Lower Hudson Valley.

While there is no historical evidence to prove that the Lenape ever so much as sat down with Peter Minuit, we do know that the Dutch took ownership of the land, sale or no. Conflicts between the Lenape and the Dutch increased as settlers laid claim to the land and the Lenape struggled to maintain their home. And if violent skirmishes weren’t enough, Lenape were killed in droves by diseases carried over from the old world. Even the English ascension to power in 1664 offered no respite for the Lenape. By the early 1700s, the few hundred who managed to survive the European invasion were forced to leave Manhattan.”_washingtonsquareparkconservancy.org

“The first treaty that was signed by the United States government, after its Declaration of Independence, was with the Lenni-Lenape (also called “Delawares”) in 1778 during the Revolutionary War. The revolutionary government promised that if the “Delawares” helped their fight against the British, they would be given statehood in the future… a promise that was not kept. Because of continuing conflict with European settlers encroaching upon Tribal lands, many of the Tribe’s members were killed or removed from their homelands. Some were able to continue to live in the homeland, however, they lived in constant fear. Those who remained survived through attempting to adapt to the dominant culture, becoming farmers and tradesmen.”_nanticoke-lenape.info

Central Park History

“New York’s Central Park is a world-famous public park, created beginning in 1858 to address the recreational needs of the rapidly growing city. Its original purpose was to offer urban dwellers an experience of the countryside, a place to escape from the stresses of urban life and to commune with nature and fellow New Yorkers. Over 150 years later, the park still provides this essential purpose, and welcomes all visitors, while accommodating newer forms of recreational activities. With 43 millions visits a year, Central Park is one of the most visited urban parks in the country and one of the most popular destinations in New York City.

Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, Central Park influenced the development of urban parks nationwide and is widely regarded a masterpiece of landscape architecture. Central Park is a National Historic Landscape (1963) and a Scenic Landscape of the City of New York.(1974).

Located in what is now the center of Manhattan, the site was far from the built-up areas of the city when planning for the park began in the 1850s. Sparsely populated, it was home to small farms, industrial uses, and dwellings scattered between areas of marshland and rocky hills. The most densely populated section of the site was a settlement known as Seneca Village, highly significant as a predominantly African-American community, many of whom were property owners. Seneca Village accounts for approximately 225 of the 1,600 total residents living on the land who were displaced through the process of eminent domain.“_www.centralparknyc.org

Although landowners were compensated, their land was undervalued. Ultimately, all residents were forced to leave by the end of 1857.