Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Tuesday that 10 deaths in New York City are now linked to the winter weather.

“We don’t yet know if every case will be ruled hypothermia, but we need every New Yorker to be out on alert, looking after their neighbors,” Mamdani said.

Officials said at this point, it does not look like any of the 10 who have died are on the city’s known homeless person list.

Mamdani said the city remains in a Code Blue, which means city officials are intensifying outreach, coordinating round-the-clock checks and have loosened traditional shelter intake procedures to accommodate as many New Yorkers as possible.

“But Code Blue alone is not enough in cold this severe, this rare,” the mayor said. “That is why we are executing new additional emergency protocols to enhance our efforts.”

He said they are re-routing 311 calls to 911 so help gets there faster, sending out staff every few hours to canvass nearby blocks and engage anyone who needs assistance.

Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park spoke out about the department’s outreach efforts.

“With respect to involuntary removals, it is DHS’ policy to only do them only in situations when there is no other option,” Park said. “We are focused whenever possible on building relationships of trust, as the mayor noted, we have been able to bring in more than 500 people almost entirely voluntarily over the last week. That is really our focus. If somebody is truly in danger, we will take action to save their lives.”

Mamdani said the driving decision for an involuntary removal is if the New Yorker is a danger to themselves or others.

“This is a last resort,” Mamdani said. “Our first method of outreach is to communicate to homeless New Yorkers across the five boroughs as to the options they have. We are, however, not going to leave someone out in the cold if they are a danger to themselves or others.”

Mamdani said the increased procedures are not because of the 10 deaths, but because of the impending cold.

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