Deliverymen, New Yorkers brave dangerous deep freeze
NEW YORK (WABC) -- No one wants to be outside today, but some people have no choice.
"When I woke up, I'm like 'oh man, it's really cold," said food deliveryman Richard Leechong.
Leechong is like a lot of food delivery people out there - freezing!
"I've got this whole zip-up sweater, I've got a knit sweater, I've got a t-shirt, and then I've got some thermals here," he adds.
Leechong has to make sure every piece of skin is protected before he takes off on his bike to deliver cookies.
"I just got this ski mask like last week," he says.
When asked if he got better tips in the cold, Leechong said it depends, but his last delivery he unfortunately got no tip.
However, he is not alone. The Halal Guys tell Eyewitness News that they have to psych themselves up to go to work when the temperatures are this cold. Even with the plexiglass case they are still freezing from head to toe.
Then, there is the other side of things - the people who don't have to, but choose to be out in the brutally cold weather anyway.
Fashion week may fall in February when the temperature does the same thing, but one group was not letting single digits dampen their sense of fashion.
"I'm freezing, but my car is here, so it works out perfectly," they said.
There were no stilettos, just ice and plenty of it. The Hudson River looks like a giant slushie right now.
Standing outside in Midtown, basketball fans were waiting to get an autograph from Trey Burke for All Star Weekend. Some had been waiting for over two hours, saying it was worth it just to see him.
At Bryant Park, the strategy to beat the cold seems to be to keep telling yourself that if it is not, it won't be. One family from Ireland told Eyewitness News that the weather wasn't too bad.
Then, there were the winter warriors who knew how to stay toasty.
"Being in love - that keeps you warm all the time," they said.
CLICK HERE to get tips on battling the cold weather.
