Mayor Zoran Mamdani disclosed on Wednesday that at least six individuals who perished in the frigid temperatures of New York were homeless, leading to criticism urging him to take more decisive action.
Some community advocates and local law enforcement believe the city should be more aggressive in relocating homeless individuals to shelters. However, Mamdani referred to this as a “last resort” and instructed his administration to cease the dismantling of tent encampments throughout the five boroughs.
“Regardless of your perspective,” stated former City Comptroller Scott Stringer, “when temperatures drop to 7 degrees, everyone should be able to find a safe place.”
Stringer, who has run for mayor twice, expressed concern over the alarming number of deaths. One advocate mentioned that he couldn’t recall a time when the city experienced so many fatalities due to cold weather.
“If there were 10 shooting deaths, people would mobilize en masse,” Stringer remarked.
Dave Giffen, the executive director of the Homeless Coalition, described the current death toll as nearly unprecedented.
“Having lived in New York City my entire life, I can’t think of a winter storm that resulted in so many deaths in such a brief period. It’s genuinely tragic,” Giffen said on Wednesday.
Previous city officials have claimed that tough love is essential when dealing with the homeless, suggesting that the authorities must force people to stay indoors.
Former FDNY Commissioner Tom Van Essen suggested that during extreme weather, he would have ordered firefighters and paramedics to bring homeless individuals to shelters, asserting that the Legislature is hindering efforts to get people off the streets for its own advantage.
“Rikers is housing many mentally ill individuals, but are we really allowing others to freeze to death?” he asked.
The latest figures from the city reveal that 29 people, including the homeless, have succumbed to the cold in 2023. According to data, an average of 27 cold exposure-related deaths occurred annually from 2017 to 2023.
The official cause of death for 10 individuals this year has not yet been established by the city medical examiner.
Among the deceased was a 90-year-old woman with dementia who, although not homeless, was found dead after wandering away from her apartment in Brooklyn. A local resident shared this information with Gothamist.
Tragedy was felt across four boroughs, with three deaths each reported in Queens and Brooklyn, and two in both Manhattan and the Bronx, as per the NYPD.
By the time emergency responders arrived at the scenes, six individuals were already confirmed dead.
In another case, hospital staff at St. Barnabas discovered a 60-year-old man unconscious just outside the facility on Saturday morning. They took him inside, but he was later declared dead.
Another individual was found naked by construction workers in the Bronx, while a 47-year-old man was discovered slumped on a bench outside a grocery store in Queens.
This surge in fatalities occurred after Mamdani pledged upon taking office to halt the clearance of homeless encampments and adopt a less forceful approach to addressing homelessness.
“If New Yorkers pose a danger to themselves or others, that drives the decision to remove them from the streets in such cold,” he asserted. “This is a last resort,” he reiterated.
“Our primary aim is to inform homeless individuals in the boroughs of the options available to them. But we won’t abandon anyone in the cold if they’re a danger to themselves or others,” he added.
Mamdani’s office stated Wednesday that they are increasing outreach to those living on the streets, including forming outreach teams every two hours to assist those in need.
The city has also opened 10 new warming centers and deployed additional warming vans, partnering with faith-based organizations, according to City Hall.
Nonetheless, Giffen from the Homeless Coalition emphasized that the severity of the recent winter storm, which had dumped over a foot of snow in parts of the city, signals an urgent need for action. “Is the city doing enough? Clearly, no,” he stated.
He criticized Mamdani’s predecessor, Eric Adams, for policies that cleared homeless camps, labeling them as counterproductive to aiding the homeless. Mamdani has since put an end to those practices.
“There’s a significant policy issue here. Criminalizing involuntary displacement has fueled fear and mistrust among many without shelter,” he explained.
Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, suggested that while she doesn’t want to prematurely criticize Mamdani, he should be more proactive in urging residents to call 911 instead of 311 when they encounter homeless individuals.
She feels that Mamdani might not be taking the situation seriously enough. “If we let them stay in the camp with blankets and gloves, do they unconsciously remove them? Do they think they’re safe?” she wondered. “That’s the issue, as they may believe they’re safe, but their ability to think clearly can shut down overnight.”
