As NYC frigid temps near zero, Mamdani adds even more warming sites, beds for homeless
NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani is implementing additional citywide measures to protect vulnerable New Yorkers brutally cold temperatures this weekend.
The mercury in New York dropped to almost zero degrees on Saturday night. A wind warning warning for winds ranging from 20 mph to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 50 mph, producing dangerously cold wind chills, remained in effect until midnight Saturday.
Mamdani’s emergency action plan It includes the opening of 64 new hotel shelter units in Queens, in addition to the 48 new Safe Haven “walk-in”-style beds that opened Friday in the Bronx for homeless people resistant to traditional-style shelters.
65 warming areas located in hospitals, places of worship and schools are operating in the city throughout the weekend; Warming buses are also parked outside many hospitals and public transportation centers. The sites are listed at: city’s NYC311 site.
In addition to the 10 warming centers announced at schools Friday, two more warming centers have been added in Far Rockaway and Washington Heights.
“The temperature tonight will be the coldest we have seen all winter,” Mamdani said Saturday. “If you’re still outside, please come inside. Being outside, even for a short time, can be fatal. The city government is doing everything it can to keep vulnerable New Yorkers safe and warm during this winter weather crisis.”
“The cold is persistent, but so is this city,” Mamdani added.
Approximately 150 additional outreach workers are on duty to communicate with vulnerable New Yorkers and help them connect with shelters. More than 50 school nurses have also been deployed, Mamdani said.
Over the past three weeks, outreach teams have placed more than 1,300 people in shelters and inadvertently transferred 29 New Yorkers to shelters.
The number of units was increased to 33. NYC Health + Hospitals‘ mobile warming outreach initiative. Launched through the city’s Department of Homeless Services, the pilot “peer support” initiative enlists formerly homeless New Yorkers to reach out and build trust with other vulnerable or homeless New Yorkers who are still out there.
“Extreme Cold” warnings for New York City went into effect at 10 a.m. Saturday and are expected to continue until 1 p.m. Sunday. National Weather Service.
