As New York City braces for a significant snowstorm, Mayor Mamdani remains firm in his decision not to mandate the relocation of vulnerable residents indoors, despite forecasts predicting nearly two feet of snow. This impending blizzard, anticipated to batter the northeast with winds reaching 60 mph and heavy snowfall, raises concerns for the city’s homeless population.

Weather predictions have quickly evolved, indicating that New York City could experience between 18 to 24 inches of snow, according to meteorologists. This comes as a stark reminder of the city’s recent tragedy, when 19 individuals lost their lives during a severe snowstorm on January 26, which also brought frigid Arctic temperatures.

Despite these alarming statistics, Mayor Mamdani is not altering his stance. “We anticipate between 13 to 17 inches of snow, with the possibility of up to 20 inches or more,” he stated during a news conference in Lower Manhattan on Saturday morning, before the forecasts worsened.

Of the 19 fatalities from the previous storm, at least 15 were attributed to hypothermia, as reported by the city medical examiner. With the new storm approaching, Mayor Mamdani announced that efforts to encourage the homeless to seek shelter would commence at 4 p.m. on Saturday. However, he did not commit to enforcing mandatory relocation.

At least 15 of the people found dead after last month’s storm had died due to hypothermia, according to the city medical examiner.

Mamdanisaid efforts to get the homeless indoors this time around would begin 4 p.m. Saturday, but he didn’t pledge to force people inside.

And days after bringing back homeless encampment sweeps – a decision that followed backlash for not getting people off the street during the cold snap – the mayor is briefly pausing them again.

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“Our focus over the course of the storm is not going to be on physical infrastructure, it’s going to be on people getting homeless New Yorkers inside,” he said.

“There will be no cleanups over the course of this storm. Our focus is going to be utilizing every tool that we have to connecting homeless New Yorkers with a safe haven, with a shelter, with a warming bus, and we will be sure to be able to provide those homeless New Yorkers with a wide variety of options.”

Freezing temperatures could make for an extremely hazardous Monday morning commute, and the city could see some coastal flooding along Jamaica Bay, the Battery in Lower Manhattan and parts of Staten Island, city officials warned.

The storm, the city’s first blizzard since 2016, will stretch into Monday and has 30 million people along the East Coast in its path.

The mayor – who was slammed during last month’s snow for making schoolkids do remote learning instead of giving them a snow day – said he would wait until noon Sunday to decide whether to close city schools this time.

Alternate side parking has already been cancelled for Monday and delays of at least an additional day are expected for trash and recycling pickups.