A City Hall official said that 13 people have died during this stretch of bitter cold.

What You Need To Know

The city is investigating 13 people who died after being outside in the cold


At least seven people may have died from hypothermia, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said 


So far, none of the people who died were found to be living in an outdoor encampment

“We have opened a new low-barrier shelter and are utilizing on-call ambulettes that will go through the city and that will go directly to homeless individuals, encourage them to come into the unit for a meal and to warm up, and address any clinical needs,” Dora Pekec, a spokeswoman for Mayor Zohran Mamdani, said.

The update came hours after the mayor briefed reporters on the investigations into people who died in what Pekec called “outdoor deaths.”

The city’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner is investigating the cause of death.

Still, Mamdani said his team believe at least seven people succumbed to hypothermia.

Six people had a history of staying in shelters, though it was unclear if they had had a place to stay at the time. Seven were declared dead by EMS, while three died in hospitals.

“Our laser focus has been on using every single tool at our city’s disposal to canvas and conduct outreach [to] homeless New Yorkers across the five boroughs,” Mamdani said. “For the New Yorkers who are deemed to be a threat to themselves or to others, there is a process of involuntary confinement which is a last resort. However, it has been utilized a number of times whenever city workers have come to that conclusion.”

So far, 825 people have been placed in shelters and 15 people have been forced off the streets.

None of the people who died were found in tents or encampments, city officials said. None were on the city’s list of known vulnerable homeless people.

The deaths are drawing scrutiny into Mamdani’s use of a standard outreach strategy of asking homeless people if they need shelter and his reluctance to remove people off the street against their will, except as a last resort.

Mamdani provided the update at a Long Island City, Queens, food hall, announcing a $5 million settlement with app delivery companies for the benefit of delivery workers.

Sanitation crews are still trying to remove as much snow and ice as possible from streets, with more than 18,000 crosswalks, more than 5,000 fire hydrants and more than 12,000 bus stops cleared. Still, it represents a fraction of the thousands of street corners in the city.

To frustrated New Yorkers navigating around impassable intersections, Mamdani says, “the work continues.”

“We have additional contractors, additional emergency snow shovelers, and the work, it continues until every single New Yorkers, no matter their mode of transport, is able to get around the city that is theirs,” the mayor said.