Ten New Yorkers have died on the streets since Saturday as the city grappled with record snowfall and frigid temperatures, exposing gaps in the system meant to protect the more than 4,500 people living unsheltered across the five boroughs.
Six of those who died were known to the shelter system, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Wednesday.
William Galarza awoke Tuesday morning in Union Square Park surrounded by a foot of snow — the most the city has seen in five years. The 40-year-old had built a shelter from cardboard, folded tables and tarps held down by cinder blocks, but said no outreach workers had visited during the cold spell.
“I didn’t know the snow was coming that day, so I got stuck here,” Galarza said. “Nobody even shoveled anything over here.”
The Department of Homeless Services has made 620 referrals to shelters from January 19 through Wednesday afternoon — a count that includes each night an individual stays. The agency said most referrals involved people who had previously refused shelter.
Homeless outreach specialists placed 170 people into shelters and transitional housing since January 19, when the city began preparing for the storm. But those numbers represent a fraction of the street homeless population, according to the city’s latest count.
During “Enhanced Code Blue” events — the city’s designation for extreme weather protocols — outreach workers focus on roughly 350 high-priority individuals, aiming to visit them every two hours from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. The priority list covers people with medical conditions, mental health issues, substance use disorders, elderly individuals, or those who appear chronically underdressed.
Parks Department officers patrol parks where homeless people gather, said Parks Enforcement Patrol Inspector Cynthia Thompson. Emergency homeless requests to 311 are rerouted through 911 to speed response times.
After the 10 deaths, Mamdani announced additional protocols. The Parks Department, Health Department, Emergency Management and the city’s public hospital system are helping with the expanded effort.
Many unsheltered New Yorkers remain outside by choice, preferring street freedoms to shelter restrictions and curfews. Others fall through system gaps, sleeping in parks, subway stations, bank vestibules and above heating vents throughout the frigid stretch.
