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The death toll from the frigid winter weather in New York City has risen to 16, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday — as the blowback over his handling of the extended killer cold snap intensifies.
Hizzoner said at an unrelated press conference that 13 people died from hypothermia and another three died of overdoses outside since the freezing temps descended on the city Jan. 19.
“Each of these lives lost is a tragedy,” Mamdani said. “My heart was with the families of those mourning their loved ones.
“We are continuing to do everything in our power to get every New Yorker into a shelter where they will be warm,” he added. “ The cold is showing no signs of stopping, so neither will the city’s efforts.”
The mayor said none of the people who died were found in encampments, which his administration ordered city workers not to touch, reversing a longstanding initiative to clear shantytowns off the streets.
On Sunday, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who endorsed Mamdani for mayor, criticized City Hall for not forcing people indoors during the cold snap, saying that being outside in the freezing temps amounted to a “death sentence.”
“You can’t let the people stay out there. These are people in crisis,” he said.
Mamdani pushed back on the criticism Monday, calling the prior policy a “failure.”
“It does not appear there’s any relationship between encampments and what we’ve seen with these 16 New Yorkers,” he maintained.
“We’ve said that it’s a failure because it having only connected three New Yorkers with permanent housing over the course of 365 days.”
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