{"id":126427,"date":"2026-02-07T21:22:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T21:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/126427\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T21:22:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T21:22:35","slug":"mayor-mamdani-praises-first-responders-at-staten-island-firehouse-amid-extreme-cold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/126427\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Mamdani praises first responders at Staten Island firehouse amid extreme cold"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Mayor Zohran Mamdani visited a firehouse on Staten Island Saturday to praise FDNY members for their heroic efforts in responding to emergencies while weathering the extreme cold, snow and ice.<\/p>\n

Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore joined the mayor in a meet-and-greet at Engine 168\/EMS Station 23 at 1100 Rossville Ave. <\/p>\n

As temperatures dipped into the teens amid fierce winds, the mayor shook hands and chatted with firefighters, emergency medical services personnel and their family members.<\/p>\n

\"MayorDominick Arsenault celebrates his 9th birthday with his dad, Pietro, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who came to thank firefighters and EMS personnel for keeping New Yorkers safe during the cold snap at Engine 168, EMS Battalion 23 in Rossville on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. Owen Reiter<\/p>\n

Dominick Arsenault, who donned a knit Minecraft hat to protect himself from the cold, celebrated his ninth birthday in a very special way by meeting the mayor. Pietro, the boy\u2019s father, is assigned to Station 23.<\/p>\n

The mayor also greeted the family of Capt. Trent Coppolo, who has 25 years of service with the FDNY, including wife Denise and their daughter Lily. <\/p>\n

\"MayorMayor Zohran Mamdani poses for a photo with Captain Trent Coppolo, his wife, Denise, and daughter Lily as the mayor thanks firefighters and EMS personnel for keeping New Yorkers safe during the cold snap at Engine 168, EMS Battalion 23 in Rossville on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.Owen Reiter<\/p>\n

Denise Coppolo said that the mayor \u201cwas thanking my husband for his service and what he does, and we were talking about the weather and how cold it is and dangerous and how they risk their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani did not make a speech, but he did take questions from reporters on topics ranging from snow removal to his executive order strengthening sanctuary city policies. The mayor said he also would look into the encryption of NYPD radio communications.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a pleasure to be here on Staten Island as we\u2019re sharing with New Yorkers the importance of staying inside during what is one of the coldest days we\u2019ve seen in our city in a long, long time,\u201d the mayor told a reporter for the Advance\/SILive.com. <\/p>\n

\"MayorLieutenant Giovanna Calderella greets Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore at Engine 168, EMS Battalion 23 in Rossville on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. Owen Reiter<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m here to also appreciate the incredible work of fire and EMS workers who do not have the luxury of staying inside in a moment like this. They\u2019re outside making sure that New Yorkers are safe, New Yorkers are warm,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

The mayor added that \u201cwhen New Yorkers are fleeing danger, these are the incredible men and women that run towards it to ensure that we have a city that\u2019s safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MayorLieutenant Giovanna Calderella greets Mayor Zohran Mamdani upon his arrival to thank firefighters and EMS personnel for keeping New Yorkers safe during the cold snap at Engine 168, EMS Battalion 23 in Rossville on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. Owen ReiterSnow removal issues<\/p>\n

Responding to complaints about the lingering mounds of snow on Staten Island streets, the mayor said that the city has melted about 11 million tons of snow \u2014 about 22 billion pounds \u2014 on our borough as of Saturday.<\/p>\n

The mayor noted that the city Sanitation Department has had about 2,500 workers on duty each 12-hour shift for nearly two weeks. Typically, sun and rising temperatures help to melt snow after a storm, but that has not been the case since Mother Nature dumped a foot of snow on Staten Island on Jan. 25.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve instead seen some of the coldest weather the city has seen in a long time, so that snow has hardened, and we continue to do the work,\u201d Mamdani said, adding that the bone-chilling weather is expected to continue for the next few days.<\/p>\n

He noted that Sanitation\u2019s focus is about evenly divided between trash\/recycling collection and snow removal.<\/p>\n

The mayor added that \u201ceverybody on Staten Island deserves the same level of service no matter what their zip code is or what borough they call home.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"MayorCouncilmember Frank Morano (C) is greeted by Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore (L) and Lieutenant Giovanna Calderella as he arrives at Engine 168, EMS Battalion 23 in Rossville on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.Owen ReiterDeaths amid extreme winter weather<\/p>\n

So far, Mamdani said that 18 New Yorkers have lost their lives outside during the storm and its aftermath. He promised to let the media know if any of the victims died on Staten Island.<\/p>\n

Preliminary indications are that 13 victims had hypothermia and three overdosed on drugs or other substances, with the causes of death for two yet to be disclosed. He noted that the medical examiner will determine the causes and manners of death for those individuals.<\/p>\n

\"MayorMayor Zohran Mamdani thanks firefighters and EMS personnel for keeping New Yorkers safe during the cold snap at Engine 168, EMS Battalion 23 in Rossville on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.Owen ReiterSanctuary city policies strengthened<\/p>\n

On Friday, Mamdani signed an executive order that a news release from his office states \u201cprotects the privacy and data of immigrants and all residents; bolsters restrictions on federal immigration enforcement on city property; initiates an audit to make sure city agencies are complying with sanctuary laws; and establishes a committee to coordinate crisis response across city government in the event of escalating federal immigration actions or other major events.\u201d<\/p>\n

When questioned about threats by the Trump Administration to deny federal funds to sanctuary cities, the mayor said: \u201cWe\u2019ve made clear that our laws and our values are not bargaining chips.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani described himself as one the three million immigrants in a city where about 8.5 million people live.<\/p>\n

The mayor said that sanctuary city policies \u201cactually keep people safe.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThey had been defended by Republicans and Democrats alike for years until we got to this moment,\u201d said the mayor. \u201cAnd I am confident that we will be able not only to defend our values, our laws, but also the people who call the city home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mayor added that \u201csanctuary city policies allow for the city to work with the federal government when an individual has been convicted of over 170 serious crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sanctuary City policies, Mamdani said, ensure that \u201cimmigrant families know that they are safe when they walk into a school or a hospital or a city property. That they need not fear that an ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agent could gain admission unless they provide a judicial warrant signed by a judge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause what we\u2019re seeing is that so many people in this city, regardless of their status, frankly, are living with a sense of fear that is keeping them from living their lives as they should be able to,\u201d said Mamdani.<\/p>\n

Access to police radio<\/p>\n

When asked whether he would support ending encryption and returning access to the police radio to reporters, Mamdani said: \u201cI\u2019ll look into that and we\u2019ll get back to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed a piece of legislation that would have restored some public access to police radio frequencies.<\/p>\n

Police agencies around the nation, including the NYPD, have moved to encrypt their radio frequencies in recent years blocking public access, including that of the media.<\/p>\n

In December, the City Council passed a bill requiring the NYPD to provide radio access to credentialed journalists. The bill ensures real-time access to police communication for media.<\/p>\n

\"MayorMayor Zohran Mamdani thanks firefighters and EMS personnel for keeping New Yorkers safe during the cold snap at Engine 168, EMS Battalion 23 in Rossville on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. Owen Reiter\"MayorCaptain Trent Coppolo shakes hands with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who came to thank firefighters and EMS personnel for keeping New Yorkers safe during the cold snap at Engine 168, EMS Battalion 23 in Rossville on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.Owen Reiter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Mayor Zohran Mamdani visited a firehouse on Staten Island Saturday to praise FDNY members…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126428,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-126427","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}