Ten Years in the Life of the World Famous Essex Street Snowman

The original Essex Street Snowman, Dec. 2010
The Essex Street Snowman has been an annual tradition for more than a decade already. Ever since two locals established a bodega-grocery at the nexus of Essex and Ludlow Streets.
So, with an epic Nor’easter on the doorstep, it’s worth sledding down memory lane.
The first iteration of the snow sculpture (nay, marketing stunt) appeared back in December 2010, admittedly with a much smaller footprint. As the seasons and storms turned, the humanized hump grew in height and girth.

January 2016
The Chinese bodega, dubbed Shan Fu, is owned and operated by Lower East Side residents Dong Wang and Helen Chen, who founded the business in December 2010. The store has been a reliable resource ever since, and always welcomes with the fresh scent of cooked yams.
Dong has been the architect of the seven-foot Yeti from the outset.