NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani is implementing additional measures across the city to shelter vulnerable New Yorkers from this weekend’s severe cold weather.
Temperatures dropped to almost freezing in New York City on Saturday night. A wind warning warns of winds of 20 mph to 25 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph, producing dangerously cold winds until midnight Saturday.
Mamdani’s emergency action plan includes opening 64 new hotel shelters in Queens, in addition to the opening of 48 new Safe Haven “drop-in” beds in the Bronx on Friday for homeless people who are resisting traditional shelters.
Over the weekend, 65 heated spaces located in hospitals, churches and schools were active around town, with heated buses parked outside many hospitals and transport hubs. These sites are listed on the city’s NYC311 site.
In addition to the 10 warming centers announced Friday at schools, two more are being added in Far Rockaway and Washington Heights.
“Tonight’s temperatures will be the coldest we’ve seen all winter,” Mamdani said Saturday. “If you are still outside, please come inside. Even being outdoors for a short period of time can be fatal. The City is doing everything it can to keep vulnerable New Yorkers safe and warm during this winter weather crisis.”
“The cold persists, but so does the city,” Mamdani added.
There are approximately 150 additional outreach workers working to connect and help vulnerable New Yorkers find shelter. More than 50 school nurses have also been deployed, Mamdani said.
In the past three weeks, outreach teams have placed more than 1,300 people in shelters and involuntarily transported 29 New Yorkers to shelters.
The number of units has increased to 33, expanding NYC Health + Hospitals’ mobile warming outreach program. A pilot “peer outreach” program through the city’s Department of Homeless Services is deploying formerly homeless New Yorkers to engage with and build trust with other vulnerable or homeless New Yorkers who are still out there.
An “extreme cold” warning is in effect for New York City starting at 10 a.m. Saturday and is expected to last until 1 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.