Cover Story: Bruce McCall's 'Polar Bears on Fifth Avenue': The New Yorker A winter storm named Hercules greeted New York City at the start of 2014, and inspired this cover by Bruce McCall. "I grew up in Canada, where blizzards were common and schools never closed because of them," says McCall. People are starting to forget how much fun it can be to be up to your knees in snow, though it's different in cities. Happy frozen new year!