City Hall is facing mounting criticism over its decision to leave homeless individuals outdoors during dangerously cold weather, with opponents accusing Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration of inaction as winter deaths in New York continue to climb, the NY Post reports.
Despite pleas from advocates and former officials, the administration held firm to its current approach even as the city’s winter death toll reached 18. The refusal to intervene has drawn sharper contrast with actions taken in other major cities, where leaders have ordered emergency measures to bring people inside during extreme cold.
“When a person is in imminent danger, there is no debate. Whatever ideological divides we have should not have any impact on these policies during a ‘Code Blue,’” Brian Stettin, a former senior adviser in Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, told The Post.
Stettin pointed to the widely publicized case of a homeless woman seen muttering to herself while enduring brutal, subzero conditions, calling the situation “infuriating” and insisting that officials should have acted immediately.
“They should be doing everything they can to get them inside. That is why we need cops out on the streets. We are talking about an imminent threat to life or safety; there shouldn’t be any debate with advocates over that.”
The woman survived the extreme cold spell — which brought temperatures in parts of the city lower than those recorded in Antarctica — but remained on the sidewalk as of Monday. First responders told The Post that under existing city rules, they were unable to compel her to accept help.
Reporters attempted to speak with the woman, who was sheltering in a makeshift structure on East 34th Street across from NYU Langone Hospital, but she did not respond. Workers at nearby businesses said she has stayed in the same spot for “years” and that no effort had been made to move her since Saturday.
Over the weekend, City Hall briefed City Council members, but according to one council source, there was little discussion of involuntary removals of people from the streets.
The mayor’s office has argued that its hands are tied by the current “last resort” standard, which allows officials to force someone indoors only if they are judged to be an immediate danger to themselves or others — a framework critics have long described as vague and unscientific.
In contrast, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, whom Mamdani has previously praised for reducing crime, took a more aggressive stance during a recent cold snap. Scott declared the weather an emergency and directed police to bring people indoors even if they refused assistance.
“That direction order came from me because we cannot allow folks to be out in this kind of weather,” Scott said.
A City Hall spokeswoman dismissed comparisons to Baltimore, citing differences between New York and Maryland law. But former city Comptroller Scott Stringer argued that Baltimore’s response better reflects the urgency of the situation, noting that New York’s policy relies heavily on subjective judgment and that the mayor has broad authority in how it is applied.
“You bring ’em in, and you worry about the court case later,” he said.
“The question is: Is it ideology or incompetence for the lack of action? Saving lives is the most important thing you can do as an elected official. The standard has to be in this extreme weather, ‘Can they survive the night?’ And that’s what Baltimore is saying,” Stringer said.
“It’s just not a tough call when people can die in the night. I don’t understand why it’s so complicated.”
City Hall press secretary Dora Pekec said the Mamdani administration has not altered any policies related to removals that were in place under Adams.
Another source said the Department of Sanitation has been instructed to avoid dismantling homeless encampments, marking a shift from prior practice. Instead of clearing sidewalks, sanitation workers are reportedly told to carefully organize belongings left by people living outdoors, while police are barred from taking steps to remove encampments.
“It’s been essentially confusion across the board. Sanitation is now like maid services for the homeless,” said another council source.
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