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Mamdani taps NYC school nurses, peers to bring people indoors during ‘lethal cold' stretch
By
Charles Lane
Published Feb 6, 2026
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Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
By
Charles Lane
Published Feb 6, 2026
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a sweeping set of emergency measures Friday as real-feel temperatures are expected to plunge to 10 below zero this weekend.
The city is reopening 10 public schools as warming centers, deploying school nurses for street outreach and piloting a new program pairing formerly homeless New Yorkers with outreach workers to encourage people to seek shelter.
The National Weather Service has issued an extreme cold warning for Saturday night into Sunday, with lows around 5 degrees and winds pushing real-feel temperatures to as low as negative 20. Cold that intense can lead to hypothermia and frostbite in as little as 15 minutes.
"These will be lethal conditions," Mamdani said, calling the response an “all hands on deck” operation. "Being outside for even a short period of time could pose a severe risk."
Seventeen people have died outside during the arctic stretch, which has kept New York City under a “code blue” since Jan. 19, the mayor said, a status that eases entry to shelter to move more people indoors.
The mayor said preliminary indications suggest 13 of the 17 victims died of hypothermia, and three from overdoses, with one still to be determined.
The city is also adding roughly 65 new hotel shelter units for individuals reluctant to enter congregate settings, adding two new CUNY warming centers and partnering with Northwell Health to open two new warming facilities, Mamdani said. The city will operate 62 warming centers and vehicles this weekend with new signage to make them easier to find.
Beyond the peer outreach pilot and school nurses, the city is mobilizing its crisis management system's network of violence interrupters and partnering with the Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless to deploy additional staff, the mayor said. Two overdose prevention centers will remain open 24 hours this weekend in response to the overdose-related deaths.
“To those who may consider themselves more comfortable on the streets, I want to speak directly to you,” Mamdani said at the Friday afternoon briefing. “Come inside. These temperatures are too low and too dangerous to survive.”
Outreach teams have made more than 1,250 placements into shelters and safe havens since Jan. 19, twice as many as the previous night. The city involuntarily transported 27 people, according to the mayor. The criteria for removal include when someone is a danger to themselves or others — a condition met by virtue of the temperature.
Mamdani said the city has also cut the time it takes to reach a homeless assistance prompt on 311 from one minute and 20 seconds to roughly 40 seconds. LinkNYC kiosks will now allow New Yorkers to call 311 directly and find nearby warming centers.
Asked whether he bears responsibility for the deaths, Mamdani said, "As the mayor, I'm responsible for city actions across the five boroughs."
"Each and every day is an opportunity to address any of the concerns that we hear from New Yorkers," he said.
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Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
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