New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Sunday that public schools will close Monday, granting students a traditional snow day as a powerful winter storm bears down on the region. The decision marks a shift from last month, when the city kept schools open remotely during a deadly snowstorm, drawing criticism from parents and educators.

In a video shared on X, Mamdani informed families that nearly one million students in the city’s public-school system would not be required to log in for online instruction and could instead enjoy what he described as a return to the classic snow day.

“Hi, Victoria,” Hizzoner said in a posted video of a FaceTime conversation with a young female student who appeared to have been awaiting his call.

The child gushed, “Oh, my god, it’s the mayor!”

A smiling Mamdani delivered the news directly to the student, saying, “So I thought as the mayor, I wanted to call you and give you the news: no online school, no remote learning, full classic snow day.”

Victoria shouts in glee, while the mayor added, “My only ask is for you to stay safe indoors during the height of the storm.

“Once that has passed, you’re free to go out and play.”

Although the announcement delighted students, some parents said the abrupt change created challenges. Anna Oberndorf, 36, a Brooklyn Heights mother of four and primary-care nurse, described the cancellation as “disruptive.”

“After being off for a whole week from school [for the scheduled winter break] and the little additional day off as a snow day, it’s a little frustrating. It’s a little unexpected to say the least and disruptive,” the Brooklyn native told The NY Post.

Even so, Oberndorf expressed appreciation that the administration decided against another round of remote instruction.

“I prefer no Zoom school because it’s not an effective way to conduct schooling. It’s also very challenging to have more than one child trying to do Zoom school,” she said.

At a later press conference, city officials explained that they coordinated with state authorities to allow what they called “their first snow day in years,” following a policy under Mayor Eric Adams that had largely eliminated weather-related closures in favor of remote learning.

Mamdani’s team also pointed out that many students currently lack access to their school-issued Chromebooks, which would have made remote participation unworkable had classes remained open.

Forecasters predicted that Sunday’s storm could drop up to 28 inches of snow in parts of the city, with blizzard conditions expected to persist into Monday morning. The most intense snowfall was anticipated Sunday evening.

The move to close schools comes after the rocky rollout of virtual instruction during January’s Winter Storm Fern. During that storm, many students and parents reported difficulty logging in as technical problems plagued the system.

Parents told The Post that the online system greeted their children with a blizzard of error messages, with many struggling to overcome the computer woes.

Attendance records from that day showed that roughly 20 percent of students were marked absent.

Under state law, New York City must ensure students complete 180 instructional days each year, even though the mayor has the authority to declare an official snow day.

{Matzav.com}