Smoking Subway Snowman Helps Stressed Storm Commuters Chill Out

CHELSEA, NY — A smoking subway snowman is chilling out on a Chelsea platform, surrounded by freezing commuters dealing with Thursday's 'bomb cyclone."

The MTA version of Frosty appeared at the 28th Street and Seventh Avenue 1 train stop and was formed from a pile of snow that somehow managed to build up underground. He was about a foot-and-a-half tall and perched on a metal box. His creator is unknown.

Around the subway system, travelers commented on platform snowdrifts and iced staircases, though trains ran on a schedule that was close to normal.

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Although Frosty can get away with a smoking in the subways, regular commuters can't – smoking is prohibited on trains and in stations.

Like most subway anomalies, the Chelsea snowman didn't attract much attention from Manhattan commuters and appears to have been left to smoke his unlit cigarette in peace.

Thursday's blizzard blanketed the city on Thursday morning and is expected to get more intense during the afternoon, forecasters said. Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the city, warning as much as a foot could fall.

Image credits: Liz Lashway / Patch