How Long Islanders faced the blizzard, from being stranded at Penn Station to being stuck in the snow

From Elmont to East Hampton, the record-breaking blizzard that slammed parts of Long Island with more than 2 feet of snow forced most residents with days off from work or school to remain at home Monday, with the exception of those unyielding shoveling efforts that seemed never-ending.

But for those unlucky few forced to venture out onto the roads, to work or to the airports, hoping desperately to get home, the treacherous conditions left their toll on a weary population waiting anxiously for the start of spring.

Here are their stories.

A 30-hour journey

Andrew Choi, Bethpage public schools' technology director, completed a 30-hour journey Monday afternoon from Florida to New York — involving a canceled flight, a broken-down bus and an Amtrak train — when he checked his phone to game plan his final leg: a Long Island Rail Road trip home to Hicksville.

"Service Suspended," the MTA's TrainTime app read.

It was another travel-related headache catalyzed by the snow for Choi, 41, who had headed south to watch spring training baseball.

First came the canceled flight Saturday while watching the Yankees play the Tigers. With the next available flight not scheduled until Thursday, he boarded a bus Sunday from Tampa to Orlando — which broke down, forcing passengers to switch vehicles.

Then his Sunday Amtrak train was sold out of sleeper cars and the train made unscheduled stops in Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey, before arriving Monday afternoon.

"When it rains, it pours, it seems," Choi said, looking with resignation at a Penn Station screen listing suspensions on every line. "It's frustrating, but at the very least, I'm here."

Finally, a friend came to pick him up at 7 p.m.

Weathering the storm

On Monday morning, Michael Clemons stood outside in the cold, holding a battery-operated hair dryer to keep warm.

Clemons, 57, said he decided to leave the shelter at the Family Service League on Park Avenue in Huntington, bundled in a coat, hat and gloves, "to stay out of trouble."

He had been out in the cold, willing to brave the arctic-like conditions for several hours, because "there are too many knuckleheads" inside the shelter.

Clemons said he has been sober for seven years, providing some of the credit to his trusted hair dryer.

Engagement plans snagged

David Tirado proposed to his girlfriend in Central Park this week. The couple went to the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Ellis Island and Chinatown, before heading to Kennedy Airport on Monday morning, hoping to return home to Spain to celebrate their impending nuptials.

"We don’t have a hotel anymore," Tirado said while waiting for a shuttle after receiving word that his flight had been canceled.

Tirado was hoping to speak with a Delta Air Lines official to determine where he can stay until his flight back.

At Terminal 1, passengers had already been turned away and told to return tomorrow. But a bus full of heavily bundled travelers nonetheless trudged through a snow and slush-filled shuttle bus to Terminal 4.

"No flights," one person said as he got off the shuttle before others boarded. "You're wasting your time."

Essentially stranded

Luke Gregory left his home in Centereach at 4:30 a.m. Monday to reach his job as an essential worker at a hospital in Patchogue.

Gregory, 40, traveled about 6 miles before the conditions overwhelmed his Nissan Rogue and he became stranded on southbound County Road 97 near Portion Road. He called 911 but was told visibility was too poor for first responders to reach him, Gregory said.

"It’s ridiculous out here," he told Newsday in a Facebook message.

Gregory was stranded for about four hours before a friend was able to reach him, leaving his car behind.

'Dedicated to work'

It wasn't just average motorists struggling with the elements. Even experienced snowplow operators faced difficulties navigating Long Island's snow-packed roads.

Snowplow driver Jose Cesanto got stuck on Park Avenue, a main Huntington thoroughfare — the third such occurrence Monday morning alone.

"It’s the worst storm I’ve seen since 2016," noted Kevin Mancia, 27, who had been plowing for the Huntington Highway Department for 14 hours since 6 p.m. Sunday.

In nearby Huntington Station, Aryan Paul, 22, said he slept overnight at the 7-Eleven store at Park Avenue and Broadway, serving the handful of customers that showed up since the store opened at 4 a.m.

"I'm dedicated to work," Paul said.

Waiting on the LIRR

The beehive of commuters typically buzzing through Penn Station during rush hour was a fraction of normal on Monday, with service on all lines suspended.

Among them was Roro Notoadisardjono, 48, of Shirley, who arrived by Amtrak from Florida with her son, seventh grader Hampton Haryadi, 12.

Notoadisardjono, who works in a hotel overnight in Hampton Bays, wasn't sure whether she would get a room for the night in the city or take the LIRR home — whenever it starts running again.

"I’m just debating whether I should take a hotel or I should wait another three hours," she said around 3:30 p.m.