Buses and ambulances equipped with snow chains rolled through a quieter-than-usual Manhattan, while many shops and restaurants were shuttered in Brooklyn and other boroughs.

With schools closed across the city of 8.5 million people, many children took advantage of the free day by sledding down snowy hills in Central Park.

"I really love it, it's really fun to play in the snow," said Dylan, 11, who added it was the most snow he had seen in his life.

Behind him, three-year-old Chloe burst out laughing as she lay in the powder before her dad Eddie, 41, helped her back to her feet.

"We had some snow about a month ago. But it's probably the most we've had in a decade or two. Everybody loves it," Eddie told AFP.

Elsewhere, parkgoers threw snowballs from a bridge onto a frozen lake to test the strength of the ice.

Central Park, New York's official reporting station, measured 19.7 inches (50 centimeters) of snow as of 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) -- the largest amount in over a decade.

Some locals used skis to navigate the powder, even walking their dogs at the same time.

Major tourist hubs like Times Square were almost empty on Monday but for a scattering of people bundled up in coats.

- 'Frustrating' -

Hannah Baade, a finance worker living in Brooklyn, said she enjoyed seeing the city covered in snow.

"I like it," she told AFP. "I would prefer to get snow in the winter, it makes it seem like winter."

"It's just funny that we haven't had snow for a few years and then we get these two massive storms this year."

But other New Yorkers were annoyed to see more snow, which fell weeks after a January winter storm was starting to thaw out.

"The snow had just melted and now we're getting a ton more," said Alexa, 36, who didn't want to share her last name.

"So it's a little frustrating, but it's also wintertime, so it's OK."

Sixty-year-old Joe Schultz was rushing to shovel snow from a buried footpath in Brooklyn.

"[It's] not bad for now, but later... when the temperature drops, it'll be harder because we've got ice underneath it," he said.