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.
{Matzav.com}For the first time since its passage, Israel has implemented legislation allowing for the removal of citizenship and deportation of terrorists, applying the law to two individuals convicted of deadly attacks.
The decision targets Mahmoud Ahmed, who received a 23-year prison sentence for a series of shooting assaults on soldiers and civilians, as well as for acquiring weapons and plotting additional attacks. It also applies to Mohammed Ahmed Hussein Alhasi, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for a 2016 stabbing attack in which two elderly women were wounded.
The action followed authorization from Israel’s security authorities and the attorney general. The formal order was signed by Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, acting in his capacity on behalf of the Interior Ministry.
Announcing the step, Netanyahu said, “This morning, I signed the revocation of the citizenship and expulsion of two Israeli terrorists who carried out stabbing and shooting attacks against Israeli civilians and were rewarded for their criminal actions by the Palestinian Authority.”
{Matzav.com}Rav Yitzchok Yosef delivered unusually sharp comments criticizing the police, government authorities, and religious-Zionist influences, expressing deep pain over what he described as hostility toward the chareidi and religious public.
In remarks published Tuesday by Ynet, the Rav said he is scheduled to deliver a shiur to police officers ahead of Pesach and made clear that he intends to address what he sees as a disturbing attitude toward frum Jews.
Referring to the upcoming session, Rav Yosef said, “How much hatred do they have for the chareidi? I intend to give them a hard time. Where does this hatred for the religious people come from?” He portrayed the issue as part of a broader cultural and ideological struggle facing Torah-observant Jews in Eretz Yisroel.
Rav Yosef went on to place blame on religious-Zionist messaging and protest activity, stating, “It’s the pamphlets from the Mizrachi people, all of them. How much hatred they have. Those who are protesting, what kind of beatings do they give them?” His words reflected outrage over reports of police violence and what he described as aggressive treatment of demonstrators.
Expanding his criticism, Rav Yosef turned his attention to the current government, accusing it of targeting Sephardic Torah Jews in particular. “We need to break this government, what wicked people. They come only for our Sephardim, trying to break their spirit. I can understand Russian police officers, there are non-Jews among them, I understand why they hate us. But also the Sephardic police officers have become haters? What kind of beatings do they give.”
Rav Yosef concluded by sharply opposing the custom practiced in some circles of reciting Hallel on Israel’s Independence Day, framing it as fundamentally incompatible with a Torah view of galus. “We are in exile. How can you say Hallel on Independence Day? One of the Mizrachi people told me he says Hallel on Independence Day. What is there to say Hallel on Independence Day for? For the beatings from the police? For the arrests? For the mixed swimming pools? For the mixed beaches? For the secular education? They tell me, ‘No, we have a country.’ Fools.”
{Matzav.com}
Speaking at a dramatic gathering Monday night in his home in Bnei Brak, Hagaon Rav Dov Landau sharply condemned the recent arrests of yeshiva bochurim and delivered a stark warning to the authorities, declaring that “anyone who is a partner to this terrible crime should know—there is a Creator of the world, there is judgment (yeish din), and there is a Judge (v‘yeish Dayan).”
The remarks were delivered alongside Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch during an event marking the completion of Maseches Negaim by Kollel Taharos. Opening his address, Rav Landau praised the growth of Torah learning, saying, “Boruch Hashem, Torah is increasing among the people of Israel. Those who learn Torah are toiling in every place with depth, effort, and devotion, in all areas of Torah.” Turning to the participants, he added words of encouragement: “You are engaged in the study of Seder Taharos, and with siyata d’Shmaya you are completing a masechta learned with true chavrusah dedication. May Hashem help you continue onward and rise higher in Torah learning.”
Immediately afterward, Rav Landau turned to the issue of the arrests. “Unfortunately, there are those who do not understand the greatness and spiritual power of the Torah, and they even pursue those who learn Torah,” he said. “In recent days, Torah learners have once again been arrested. This shakes the heart of every Jew.” He then issued his pointed warning: “Anyone who is a partner to the terrible crime of restricting those who learn Torah should know—there is a Creator of the world, there is judgment, and there is a Judge.”
Rav Landau expressed deep solidarity with those who have been detained and their families. “We all share in the pain of those who have been imprisoned because of their desire to learn Torah, and in the pain of their families, and we pray with all our hearts that this evil decree will pass like dissipating smoke,” he said. He also alluded to ongoing efforts behind the scenes, noting, “Everyone also knows that actions are being taken now to ensure that such cases do not continue.”
At the same time, Rav Landau cautioned that the current situation is dangerous and issued practical guidance to bochurim and yungeleit who fear arrest. “It is clear that we are now in a difficult state in which Torah learners are being pursued and searched for everywhere,” he warned. “Certainly, bochurim and yungeleit who are at risk of arrest must be careful not to come into contact with the authorities. In times of danger, all paths are considered dangerous, until the situation is resolved, with Hashem’s help, in the near future.”
Rav Landau concluded, “May it be His will that we always rejoice with the Torah without any interference, and that this decree be nullified.”
{Matzav.com}
The wife of a yungerman who was arrested for failing to report to the draft office broke down in tears during an emotional phone call with Rosh Yeshiva Rav Avraham Salim, who reached out to offer chizuk, guidance, and reassurance amid the unfolding crisis.
During the conversation, Rav Salim spoke with Esti Ben Dayan, the wife of Reb Avraham Ben Dayan, who was detained after an encounter with civilian police and transferred to military custody. The call was marked by pain, fear, and encouragement, alongside a commitment from the Rosh Yeshiva to remain personally involved and to daven for her husband’s release.
Rav Salim opened the conversation with words of chizuk, acknowledging the severity of the situation. “It’s very hard, but don’t worry, don’t worry. Everyone is davening for him and doing everything possible so that he should truly be released. They only want to frighten. This is a great test. I heard that you were married only recently. But this is a harsh decree on all bnei Torah,” he said.
Esti Ben Dayan then described to the Rosh Yeshiva the chain of events that led to her husband’s arrest and the difficult days that followed. According to her account, her husband was stopped during what appeared to be a routine civilian police check when he stepped out briefly to take care of an errand. “They stopped him just for a regular inspection,” she said. “They told him they wouldn’t do anything to him—and from Motzaei Shabbos I had no contact with him. I didn’t know where he was. Only the next day, at two in the afternoon, did he call me for the first time. They told me they took him to Prison 10.”
She went on to describe how shaken her husband sounded when they finally spoke. “He sounded completely broken, terrified by everything that happened. He was worried that the family shouldn’t find out. There’s no real way to communicate with him. We’re waiting for every phone call. This is a decree that’s impossible to bear. He simply went out and never came back,” she said.
Mrs. Ben Dayan also recounted the deep pain her husband expressed over not being allowed to put on tefillin while in custody. “He said, ‘It’s not enough that I’m arrested—they don’t even let me put on tefillin.’ He was completely broken by that,” she told Rav Salim.
The Rosh Yeshiva responded with further words of chizuk, expressing both personal empathy and a broader sense of responsibility for the tzibbur. “This causes a lot of worry, it brings so much anxiety. I understand—it’s truly cruelty. This is a test; we need to accept everything with love, and everything will pass. This isn’t only about him, it’s not only about you—it’s about everyone. This is what all bnei Torah are going through. And these are our fellow Jews—that’s what hurts. You need patience. Know that everyone truly cares about him. With Hashem’s help, when he is released—all of the Torah world, the entire yeshiva world, is with you,” Rav Salim said.
At the end of the call, Mrs. Ben Dayan asked that the Rosh Yeshiva do whatever he could to help secure her husband’s release and to continue davening on their behalf. Rav Salim promised to speak again with the attorney handling the case and asked for the detainee’s full name for tefillah: Avraham ben Basya Rus.
{Matzav.com}
