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A man was found dead in a pile of snow in Central Park on Thursday morning, not far from the park’s famous carousel, according to police.
Officers responded to a 911 call at around 10:50 a.m. near 63 Traverse Road and Center Drive, the NYPD said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS workers. The New York Post reported that the man was 58 years old and appeared to be homeless. His name has not been released.
The discovery comes just days after a major blizzard blanketed the city in roughly two feet of snow. Sources told reporters that the man appeared to have been lying in the snow for a significant period of time. Police said no criminality is suspected, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the official cause of death.
The death raises renewed concerns about the safety of homeless New Yorkers during extreme winter weather. During the height of last weekend’s blizzard, the NYPD said it made contact with 130 homeless individuals. Of those, 127 declined to enter shelters, and only two accepted city services. Officers did involuntarily remove one person they determined to be at risk.
New York City has already seen a grim toll from this winter’s cold. In late January and early February, 19 people died outdoors during a historic deep freeze, with 15 of those deaths confirmed by the medical examiner’s office to be cold-related.
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