New Yorkers are encouraged to stay inside if possible, call 311 if they see someone in need of assistance
City has opened 17 warming and health centers, adding vehicular warming spaces across the city
Watch the public service announcement HERE
TODAY, Mayor Mamdani released a new PSA urging New Yorkers to take precautions as life-threatening cold continues in New York City. This new video taps into the Mayor’s wide digital reach and builds on the administration’s wide-reaching efforts to help New Yorkers stay safe and warm during the storm – including newly-opened New York City Health + Hospitals health centers and warming vehicles at key locations across the city.
Mayor Mamdani announced today the administration implemented new unprecedented health and safety measures to both reach more people in need and provide more options for people to stay inside. In addition to opening ten warming centers before the storm hit, the City opened additional New York City Health + Hospitals health centers across the five boroughs; setting up warming vehicles at key locations across the city; and partnering with houses of worship to ensure New Yorkers know where they can find indoor space. Additionally, Mayor Mamdani announced relaxed intake policies at all hospitals across the city.
“Right now, our city is in the midst of potentially the longest stretch of below-freezing temperatures on record. Our administration is leaving no stone unturned to reach New Yorkers in need of assistance, and to ensure that warm spaces are available to anybody who needs them,” said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani at this morning’s press conference. “Please stay indoors, stay safe, and call 311 if you see someone in need of assistance. No one will be turned away from a shelter during this emergency.”
The City has been under a Code Blue emergency since Monday, January 19th where shelters have a relaxed intake policy and outreach teams canvass the city for homeless New Yorkers in need of shelter every four hours, and every two when weather conditions constitute an enhanced Code Blue emergency. These outreach teams have made nearly 500 placements to transitional housing, including shelters, safe haven beds, and stabilization beds since January 19th. Tragically, at least ten New Yorkers have lost their lives after being found outdoors; the City continues to conduct autopsy reports to assess their cause of death and is determining their housing status at time of death.
To help reach New Yorkers in need, the administration is allowing outreach providers to pay overtime to do as much overnight outreach as possible; partnering with faith-based organizations, advocates, and volunteers like the Street Homeless Advocacy Project to conduct life and safety outreach, including extra outreach shifts in high need areas; and expanding the hours of Street Health Outreach & Wellness mobile units to bring people indoors during late and early hours, including using their vans for transport and temporary shelter.
In addition, the annual Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) count, which had been scheduled for the night of January 27th, was postponed to February 3rd to ensure that outreach workers can use all available resources to serve New Yorkers in need.
Since preparation for the winter storm began, the Mamdani administration has led three large-scale briefings for city, state, and federal elected officials and staff, each with more than 100 participants, and daily private sector calls with financial services, retail, food distribution, airlines, and real estate industries to ensure continuity of essential services and align private infrastructure with City response priorities.
Mayor Mamdani’s calls for New Yorkers to sign up for Notify NYC alerts have driven nearly 70,000 new subscribers in one week, including the largest single day enrollment in system history.
READ the full transcript of the video here:
“Hello New York.
The snow may have stopped falling, but the dangerous cold remains. Our city is in the midst of what may be the longest stretch of below freezing temperatures in recorded history.
Extreme cold snaps like this are life-threatening. Already, 10 of our neighbors have tragically passed away after being found outdoors. We are doing everything in our power to keep New Yorkers safe.
First of all, the City remains in enhanced Code Blue. That means outreach teams are working around the clock to get homeless New Yorkers into shelters. We’ve already made 500 placements since January 19. As part of Code Blue, we are rerouting 311 calls to 911 so help arrives faster. We are bypassing traditional shelter intake rules so that everyone can be accommodated.
Let me clear: no one will be turned away.
We are also increasing the hours of outreach vans that can transport people to shelter during late and early hours. We’re expanding paid overtime of those outreach teams.
We have opened 10 new warming shelters since Friday. as well as an additional 7 health centers and ten new warming buses across the five boroughs.
When it comes to getting people out of the cold, we are leaving no stone unturned. If you see someone outside in the cold who looks like they might need help, please call 311.
Stay safe, stay warm, and look out for your neighbors.”
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