In January 2026, New Yorkers contacted 311 a record-breaking 80,000 times about issues with heat and hot water in their homes. Tenants across various housing types reported feeling stuck in uncomfortable living situations, placing the blame on Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s lack of response.
The harsh cold led to a wave of complaints, with many tenants noting that temperatures dropped into the teens. They recounted experiences of going days without heat, taking icy showers, and dealing with power outages overnight.
For instance, Alex Hughes from Williamsburg felt driven to move into a hotel because his living conditions had become unbearable. He shared, “We’ve been without hot water for more than 40 days in the last 11 months, and now we’re on our eighth or ninth day without hot water. I had to walk 15 minutes through snow and ice to my friend’s house to take a shower.”
In Astoria, Queens, city planner Nicole Paves explained that her building’s heating system, already unreliable, became a greater concern in the freezing temperatures. She mentioned curling up in layers and dressing her dog in a sweater just to stay warm.
“It’s been hot almost every night for the past week. If you wake up freezing, there’s nothing you can do,” Paves stated.
Residents of public housing voiced frustration too, like one who criticized authorities as the “worst child-raising landlord.” These complaints came as temperatures approached 10 degrees Celsius, prompting requests for the mayor’s involvement.
Malik Williams, a 27-year-old tenant at Lehman House, said his apartment lacked heat for most of January. “The last month hasn’t been hot at all,” he remarked, mentioning how he resorted to boiling water and using a portable heater until the heat returned. NYCHA attributed the outages to a recent snowstorm.
Since the heat season kicked off on October 1, there have been over 215,045 heat-related complaints to 311 and the Housing Preservation and Development Department. Comparatively, that’s already surpassed the 187,775 complaints received during the same period last winter.
This uptick occurred alongside Mamdani’s announcement of housing activist Shea Weaver’s new role as tenant protection czar, marketed as a push against negligent landlords and for better living conditions. However, the increase in heating failures in both private and public settings has raised new questions about this strategy.
Mamdani has been summoned before the City Council to address emergency responses during the cold snap, with lawmakers scrutinizing whether his efforts adequately safeguarded New Yorkers as complaints peaked.
Legal Requirements for Heating
City regulations mandate that landlords maintain indoor temperatures of at least 68 degrees during the day and 62 degrees at night between October 1 and May 31. Yet, tenants frequently find these standards inadequate, particularly in buildings facing financial challenges or under absentee ownership.
Paves highlighted that heating issues are often most severe at night. “Sometimes the heat comes on during the day, but then it stops at night,” she noted, adding that multiple nights, it ceases around midnight, only to return in the morning.
Despite acknowledging potential hazards, she finds herself using space heaters and multiple layers to combat the cold. “I sometimes turn on the heating even though it stresses me out. We’re always weighing the risks against staying warm,” she explained.
Due to her dog’s health issues, keeping warm takes on extra importance for her. “One winter he had pneumonia,” she recalled. “During this cold weather, I’ve been putting him in a sweater inside because it’s too cold.”
Paves expressed frustration at her building management’s lack of responsiveness, having filed 311 complaints to no avail. “The unfortunate thing is that HPD can’t do tests overnight,” she said. “It’s tough to hold landlords accountable when heat is switched off at night.”
Officials insist they are taking stringent measures. Since January 22, around 12,000 original heat complaints have been resolved through inspections or tenant confirmations, but this is just a small fraction of the roughly 80,000 complaints logged in January.
Despite these ongoing struggles, Paves feels that moving isn’t a feasible option due to the rising cost of rent in the area. “Even with rent increases, it’s still cheaper than most places nearby,” she remarked. “It’s close to the subway, but getting around can be expensive.”
“Nightmare Scenario”
As the heating crisis worsened, some tenants have united to withhold rent or pursue legal actions, feeling that the cold snap has reached a breaking point. Hughes described the situation at 491 Keep St. as worsening, stating, “the building was abandoned.”
He criticized the lack of maintenance, stating that essential services like trash pickup had ceased. “We have heat for about 15 days a year, with no cleaning or anything else,” he added, recalling last winter’s intense power outages in combination with extreme temperatures as a particularly desperate time.
Citing his rent of $3,600, Hughes remarked that he can’t afford to relocate, especially with comparable apartments costing much more.
Karlyn Murphy, 31, another tenant, explained that the residents became aware of the heating issues only in 2023, following utility shutdown notices. “We realized there were heat and hot water issues early this year,” Murphy said, adding that tenants discovered the owner had failed to pay necessary bills.
“The highest notice we received was about $350,000 in unpaid electric bills,” she stated, questioning, “We pay rent every month, so where is our money going?”
As management vanished, conditions continued to deteriorate. “This building has been abandoned by the management,” she noted, highlighting piled-up trash and chaotic delivery situations.
During the freezing conditions, she turned to boiling water for basic hygiene. “I boiled water just to soak my feet after being outside. That’s when I knew how bad things had gotten,” she said.
Public Housing Under Scrutiny
Residents in public housing are experiencing similar malfunctions, with NYCHA facing scrutiny for its aging infrastructure and maintenance delays, issues magnified in the current cold snap. Juanita Arnold, aged 61 and a resident since 2008, noted going three months without heat, an unprecedented situation for her tenure with NYCHA.
“We had no heat at all when it got cold in October,” Arnold said. Despite repeated calls for help, she felt ignored. “I was told I couldn’t call 311 anymore because I’d get fined. The tickets just kept coming.”
Without heat for a week during the recent cold spell, Geraldine Williams, 65, resorted to warming water on the stove. “NYCHA said they were working on it, but we got no compensation,” she mentioned, displaying her frustration. “My rent is never late, and when I asked about refunds, they said no.”
NYCHA maintains that they operate heating desks and an emergency response system around the clock, investing heavily in infrastructure updates in recent years. However, for residents who have spent days without heat in the dead of winter, promises can seem quite distant.
The agency is grappling with an estimated $78 billion in repair backlogs, which highlights the scope of challenges facing City Hall. The administration has promised to prioritize tenant needs amid these freezing conditions.
In a statement, Matt Rauschenbach, deputy housing spokesperson, defended the city’s response efforts. “Through the Mayor’s Office for Tenant Protection, we are extensively reassessing the Housing Preservation Act and its enforcement,” he said.
