New York City’s subway system kept moving — albeit slowly and with severe delays — during Monday’s blizzard, which buried the five boroughs in more than 20 inches of snow.

MTA Chair Janno Lieber repeatedly laughed in the face of Old Man Winter this week, chastising other transit agencies like NJ Transit that shut down due to the snow. But his decision to keep service running represents a departure from previous MTA leaders, who were quick to close aboveground subway service during snowstorms.

As the largest snowstorm ever recorded in the city began in 2016, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the MTA to close aboveground subway service due to equipment and icing issues. He also suspended aboveground service in 2017 ahead of Winter Storm Stella, which was expected to dump up to 30 inches of snow to the five boroughs — but only brought about 7 inches. And in 2021, nearly a year into the pandemic, Cuomo drove to the city from Albany in a white Ford Bronco in the middle of a blizzard to issue a last-minute announcement that aboveground service would shut down due to the weather.

Lieber and Gov. Kathy Hochul have taken a different approach by maintaining aboveground service during a pair of massive snowstorms this winter.

Subways were technically running — but service was rough. Commutes were still miserable after this week’s blizzard passed. On Tuesday, riders across the city endured severe delays — and even a smoke-filled train — as they returned to work and school.