NYC cold deaths: 16 found dead during subfreezing temperatures, Mayor Zohran Mamdani says

At least 16 people have died outdoors or in the subway system in New York City in the subfreezing cold, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday, and outreach workers are intensifying efforts to persuade the homeless to come indoors.

In 13 of the deaths, hypothermia was a cause, according to preliminary determinations; three of the deaths appear to be from drug overdoses, he said. At least 10 of the deaths were of people who had a previous interaction with the city's homelessness bureaucracy, according to Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec. The most recent deaths, she said, were in Manhattan and Brooklyn. 

The death toll has risen precipitously since a snowstorm and the cold snap began hitting the region late last month.

"The greatest danger posed by this sustained cold is to vulnerable New Yorkers who remain exposed to the elements. As of this morning, 16 of our fellow New Yorkers have passed away outside during this brutal stretch of cold," Mamdani said, speaking outside at an unrelated event.

Although some of the deaths were of homeless people, none of them — all since Jan. 23 — were in homeless encampments. Mamdani said he would not reinstate his predecessor Eric Adams' policy of clearing homeless encampments. When an encampment would be cleared, occupants were offered placement in a homeless shelter, but some did not accept placements and among those who did, some would not stay and were soon back on the street elsewhere.

Mamdani spoke on the 11th consecutive day with below-freezing weather, and the city is on track to set a record for the longest stretch of such weather in its history.

The longest stretch of subfreezing temperatures was 16 days, in 1961, according to National Weather Service meteorologist James Tomasini. The current streak, starting Jan. 24 and ending Feb. 1, was broken Monday after nine days, in Central Park. This year is tied for the eighth longest, he said. The last time it was this long or longer was in 2018, when it was 14 days.

Under the city’s long-standing Cold Blue protocols, someone in the elements can be forced to come inside if the person is found to be a danger to oneself. So far, at least three people have been forcibly hospitalized under these protocols, city officials have said. No hypothermia deaths have been confirmed on Long Island during the period of extreme cold, although five men died in connection with snow shoveling, all but one in Suffolk County. A 79-year-old man was found outside behind a Baldwin senior housing complex Monday. He later died but police did not release a cause of death.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.