Mamdani announces $25 million expansion of NYC cold-weather response

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Monday a $25 million plan to expand New York City's emergency cold-weather response, along with changes to snow and ice removal. The announcement follows a harsh winter in which, by mid-February, 19 people had been found dead outdoors during a prolonged cold snap and seven others had died of hypothermia inside private residences. Not all of the outdoor deaths were confirmed to be caused by the cold.

The plan expands the Code Blue system. Instead of working mainly from a list of individuals, outreach teams will cover streets, parks, encampments and subway entrances. The new teams, called REACH, will include more than 300 additional canvassers at peak deployment, and their routes will cover 75% of locations where homeless New Yorkers are known to stay, according to the administration. NYC Health + Hospitals will deploy up to 55 mobile medical units staffed by a nurse or nurse practitioner. The city is adding more than 600 single- and double-occupancy rooms, providing 800 beds during the coldest days.

For snow, the Department of Sanitation has added eight plow routes in Staten Island's hilliest areas and acquired 120 snow blowers for bus stops and crosswalks. It has also added pedestrian areas to its snow removal maps.

City officials did not provide a dollar-by-dollar breakdown of the spending, and the city has not said where the new rooms will be or when they will be available.