On Monday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani assured the public that street encampments would remain untouched during one of New York City’s most severe blizzards, despite the continued presence of homeless individuals who declined shelter offers.
This intense snowstorm, known as a bomb cyclone, presented a significant challenge for Mamdani’s administration, which was still grappling with the fallout from a previous storm in January. That incident spiraled into a lengthy and deadly crisis that dominated the initial 60 days of Mamdani’s tenure.
“During the blizzard, our priority must shift away from physical infrastructure to focusing on people’s welfare and ensuring they have access to indoor spaces,” Mamdani emphasized at a press briefing regarding Winter Storm Hernando.
The first wave of harsh winter weather claimed 19 lives in New York City, leading to widespread criticism of Mamdani’s perceived lackluster efforts to provide shelter for the homeless population.
Just a week prior, Mamdani had altered his previous stance against dismantling homeless encampments by instituting a new policy that grants a seven-day notice before any clearance takes place.
As the current storm blanketed the city with up to two feet of snow, outreach workers successfully moved 79 homeless New Yorkers into shelters, all voluntarily, Mamdani noted. No individuals were forcibly relocated during this operation.
But some homeless New Yorkers still flat-out refused help as they slept in the blizzard conditions, The Post witnessed firsthand on the Manhattan Bridge’s footpath.
Several tents were completely covered by snow on the bridge’s Manhattan side as FDNY responders and NYPD officers, along with a private ambulance crew, arrived to make sure the indigent occupants were safe.
“I’m alright,” one man said, shaking his head as responders peeled back the tarps.
An FDNY EMT said the man had rejected appeals made in both English and Spanish.
“We can’t remove them. People have the right to be homeless in New York City,” the EMT said.
Two NYPD officers stood nearby as the worker tried to coax the tent dwellers into better shelter, but didn’t remove the man.
Out of 130 homeless people contacted by police, 127 refused to go into shelters. Only two accepted city services, police officials said.
While city outreach teams did not pull anyone off the streets against their will, NYPD officers involuntarily removed one person whom they deemed a risk to themselves, a police department spokesperson said.
Cops can conduct involuntary removals that take homeless people off the streets if they’re deemed a danger to themselves or others — however, EMTs have no power to pull the person inside.
Those removals are different from the practice of tearing down encampments, which is called a “homeless sweep.”
Both came under scrutiny during the last winter storm. Mamdani was slammed for the 19 outdoor deaths, most from hypothermia, as he contended involuntary removals should only be done as a last resort.
Outreach teams with a licensed clinician conducted 33 involuntary removals between Jan. 19 and Feb. 10, roughly the span of the last storm and subsequent cold snap, according to city officials.
NYPD officers conducted 52 removals during that same time period, a spokesperson for the department said.
No deaths have been tied to the latest wintry blast, Mamdani said.
“We are not aware of any deaths related to this blizzard on our city streets or in public areas,” he said.
— Additional reporting by Amanda Woods
