Lark businesses cope with storm: ‘Let it melt, let it melt’

Proprietors deal as best they can with snow to ensure customers’ safety

It ’s been a bruising few days for Tony Berrios.

He spent a good portion of Monday and Tuesday shoveling snow, slipping and falling about six different times between the two days for his efforts, Berrios said. He twisted an ankle and tweaked a knee — but the most serious slip came when he banged his head against the ground.

“I f lew up in the air, then I landed and my head slammed down,” Berrios said. “So I cursed a little bit.”

But on Tuesday afternoon, it was business as usual at Perfect Cut, the Lark Street barbershop where Berrios works. A client sat in a chair while Berrios took a little off the top, his Cavalier King Charles spaniel Manny snoozing nearby.

Much of Lark Street was a moist, slushy mess Tuesday afternoon, just hours after the conclusion of a devastating winter storm — the worst since 1993 — that dumped more than 20 inches of snow throughout the Capital Region. As residents and workers take on the arduous task of digging themselves out, a few small businesses along Albany ’s shopping and walking corridor did their best to remain open during a top week for the holiday shopping season.

Geanie Berrios, Tony’s wife and the owner of the barbershop

and beauty salon, said she only saw two cancellations Tuesday, though she heard a longtime client broke her pelvis after slipping on a patch of ice. But the poor weather wasn’t all bad for business, she said: the shop saw plenty of walk-ins from people who were told not to go to work or school and decided they had nothing better to do than get a haircut.

Tony Berrios had to shovel himself a parking lot in front of the shop Tuesday morning, but when he got out of his car, he noticed there was no room to let Manny out — so Berrios had to shovel some more.

But Perfect Cut is usually closed Mondays, meaning the shop didn’t lose any business during the brunt of the storm.

That wasn’t the case across the street at Pastime Legends Video Games, where manager Adam Best said he made the decision to close the store Monday after arriving that morning and finding the surrounding streets treacherous.

“I just don’t want to put anybody at risk going out to get video games,” Best said. “Yes, we want you to come out and buy video games, but we don’t want you to put other people or yourself at risk dealing with this wonderful New York weather.”

The situation was better Tuesday, and Best said he hasn’t seen much of a hit to business because of the snowy conditions. But he did notice more people seem to be calling in to make sure the store’s open. Best said he was disappointed to see how much snow was still covering sidewalks and the roadway

near his store.

“Everywhere else is clear,” Best said. “Here on Lark, it ’s not.”

But Best said neighbors are doing their best to help each other out. A man from a nearby wine shop had plowed much of the sidewalk on his block, Best said.

Siobhan Byron, of Byron & Gill Mercantile, also said many of her neighbors helped clear the block. Center Square is a tough neighborhood to clear, she said, with those old cobblestone roads. Byron said she helped shovel much of the area around her building, because it’s a mindless activity she grew up doing and it doesn’t bother her.

“It’s a slow process but I think the city does a great job,” she said. “They have their work cut out for them — but this is just a ridiculous amount of snow.”

Joe Romeo, owner of Romeo’s Gifts & Specialties, gave his opinion about the post-storm parking situation more bluntly. “It’s a disaster,” he said. Romeo said he went to his shop three times within 24 hours to clear the stoop and sidewalk, only for the snowfall to cover the area again within minutes. He said only two people visited his shop Monday, two the previous day.

“We’ll probably lose a couple more until the parking frees,” he said.

Asked what advice he would give to business owners dealing with the wintry mess, Romeo said business owners need to make sure their sidewalk remains clear. Other than that, he said, it’s a waiting game.

“Let it melt, let it melt,” Romeo said.

■ costs weren’t available.

Regeneron currently is building at its Tempel Lane Campus where about 900,000 square feet of buildings and a parking garage have been sited. The ongoing construction work can be seen from I-90.

Regeneron’s application and documents are available for review at Town Hall in the clerk ’s office or online at https://www. eastgreenbush.org/departments/planning-zoning/ apps/regeneron-b81-add.