New York City expands hospital warming centers for winter weather

New York City officials plan to open all 11 NYC Health + Hospitals facilities as warming centers during the most severe winter weather conditions.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a $25 million expansion of the Code Blue system, which provides indoor refuge and outreach services for people experiencing homelessness during snow emergencies. The city plans to use at least four of these sites during less extreme weather.

The administration will also deploy several dozen mobile units to provide medical help and transportation to hospitals and warming centers. More than 300 canvassers will work to inform the public about available cold-weather resources. To increase shelter options, the city intends to make hundreds of one- and two-person rooms available.

The mayor said the city would use state laws to perform involuntary removals of people who meet legal criteria, such as mental instability, to provide them with psychiatric evaluations at a hospital. The Department of Sanitation is also preparing for the winter by purchasing 120 snowblowers and modernizing more than 650 plows. The city is stocking a six-month reserve of calcium chloride and rock salt, with 500 million pounds of salt already on hand.

Additionally, the New York City Housing Authority is spending millions of dollars to upgrade and repair heating infrastructure in public housing. Residents can also join the Emergency Snow Shovelers program, which pays $30 an hour or $45 an hour for workers exceeding 40 hours in a single week.