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8 people found dead outside in NYC since Saturday amid below-freezing temps
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jan 26, 2026
Modified Jan 26, 2026
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Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jan 26, 2026
Modified Jan 26, 2026
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New York City officials now say eight people were found dead outside in freezing conditions since Saturday, as the city continues to recover from its heaviest snowstorm in years.
Two of those people were found dead outside on Monday morning, in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Temperatures were in the low-20s Monday morning, and had reached down into the teens the day before. Temperatures in New York City are expected to remain below freezing through the end of the week.
Police said that at around 8:15 a.m., officers found a man unresponsive outside of 3651 Jerome Ave. in the Norwood section of the Bronx. EMS workers later pronounced him dead on the scene. Police said the man has not yet been identified.
About 45 minutes later, a 90-year-old woman was found unresponsive in front of an apartment building in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and was pronounced dead on the scene, police said. Police said the woman’s identification was being withheld pending family notification.
The medical examiner’s office is investigating the cause of death in all eight cases.
Andrew Chappotin has been homeless for three years. He said he spent much of Friday night walking around, before deciding to make his way to his sister's house, something he said he only does in emergencies to avoid imposing on what he described as an already crowded apartment.
“It’s bone-chilling cold — it burns. It burns, and it makes the body stop, and it's sneaky… one minute, I'm able to stand up and be okay, and then the next minute, my feet and fingertips would get so cold, it felt like they got chopped off and I was unable to move,” he said. “The pain from defrosting from that is very hurtful, but the pain from just being in that constant cold, and it didn't matter how many layers I had on, it got through.”
Chappotin said when he heard of the people found dead, he knew he had made the right decision to get inside.
“I could have easily been one of those victims,” he said. “There have been times that I was in distress outside, publicly in distress, I needed help, and I’ve had dozens upon dozens of people just walk past me in those moments… Those 8 people that passed away — I'm pretty sure that somebody ignored them as well. Somebody had to have saw them and just did not care.”
During a press conference on Monday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said a number of the New Yorkers who died had previously had contact with the city’s shelter system, though it was still too early to “share a broader diagnosis or a cause of death.”
He also urged New Yorkers to call 311 if they believe someone outside in the cold needs help. All such calls will be rerouted to 911 as the city remains in Code Blue — the emergency protocol when temperatures drop below freezing through the night.
He added that shelters have an open-door policy during Code Blue declarations, meaning no one is turned away during the cold.
“I send my deepest condolences to the families and the loved ones of those New Yorkers that lost their lives,” he said. “Any loss of life is truly a tragedy, and that's why we're continuing to urge New Yorkers to get to a safe and warm location, and also if they see anyone who is in need of assistance to call 311.”
According to the mayor, more than 170 homeless New Yorkers have been placed in shelters or other indoor locations since the Code Blue started. Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said at least three people were forcibly taken to hospitals due to medical necessity.
“An individual who is not appropriately dressed, who is wet, who is unable to acknowledge that there are real dangers, that is the kind of instance, particularly in this weather, where we will take somebody to the hospital,” she said.
This story has been updated with comment from Andrew Chappotin.
Tagged
Winter Storm January 2026
new york city
public safety
Catalina Gonella
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