NYPD officers were ordered to stand down on enforcement in the subway system during last weekend’s deep freeze, halting removals and holding off on cracking down as windchills dropped below zero, according to ABC.
“We put a complete stop to all ejections, even people who could potentially be causing problems in the subway system,” said Alex Crohn, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Strategic Initiatives.
That decision emerged during a City Council oversight hearing examining how the Mamdani administration managed more than two weeks of snow and dangerous cold. Eighteen people died outside during that stretch, at least 15 of them believed to be from hypothermia.
Council members pressed officials on why more people weren’t compelled to seek shelter.
“How can a person refusing to come indoors in freezing weather where they are obviously at great risk of potentially dying, not be assessed to be a danger to themselves?” asked City Council Speaker Julie Menin.
Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said the legal threshold is specific and was followed, adding that 52 people were taken indoors against their will.
“Are they exhibiting signs of mental illness and are they a danger to themselves or others? Right. So, if an individual is completely lucid, they are dry, they are wearing enough layers of clothing and they do not want to come inside. They have the right not to come inside,” Park said.
She also told lawmakers the cold intensified quickly over a weekend, leaving many caught off guard.
“We had this very dangerous situation happening very quickly on a weekend and I think it caught people by surprise,” Park said.
Advocates acknowledged some of the city’s efforts but highlighted breakdowns, including a case described by Coalition for the Homeless leader David Giffen.
“We saw one individual who was discharged from a city hospital out to the streets. And that person a few hours later was found dead,” Giffen said. “That never should have happened. Hospitals should not be releasing people or discharging them if they’re inpatients, out to the streets.”
City officials testified that about 600 outreach workers are assigned to engage people living outside, though 10 to 20 deaths linked to extreme weather still occur each year. Several council members suggested that boosting staffing levels could reduce that toll.
Loading recommendations…