Mayor Zohran Mamdani: Good morning, New York. Yesterday, the storm that our city had spent days preparing for finally arrived. Snow fell across the five boroughs, temperatures dropped, winds gusted. The forecasts were largely accurate. Nearly a foot of snow accumulated in parts of our city. And yet today, our city is up and running, thanks to the plans we put in place and the countless city workers who delivered on them. The strength of our response is a testament to all of those who put in long shifts, clearing snow from our parks, keeping our public transit running, and responding to emergencies.
Over 5,000 sanitation workers traversed our 6,000 miles of roadway multiple times, using 2,500 pieces of equipment to plow snow, pour brine, and dispense tens of millions of pounds of salt. Every street in this city was plowed. Nearly 19 tons of anti-icing solution were applied to the East River bridges by our DOT crews. The city tow truck task force, which helped our 53 motorists yesterday and today, didn't just help keep roads clear across the five boroughs. They freed trapped motorists, escorted plows, and ensured ambulances could get to those in need.
These are our fellow New Yorkers, who do immense work that is often unseen and unrecognized. They keep our city running no matter the challenge before them. They deserve immense credit and immense gratitude, to which they would respond, I'm sure, that they were only doing their jobs. New York was prepared, and New York weathered the storm.
I want to commend the leaders who are here with me today, those who are still hard at work at our emergency operation centers, and every agency that communicated and coordinated effectively across government to serve this city. And I [also] want to commend the countless everyday New Yorkers who did their part to help our city stay on its feet. The neighbors who shoveled snow off their stoop and then did the same for the stoop next door. The business owners who salted the whole block. The young people who brought supplies to the elderly couple upstairs. We prepared for this storm together and we rode this storm out together.
Now, while the worst is behind us, there is still more to be done as we clear the snow and restore our city. Our top priority remains ensuring that every New Yorker can remain safe and warm throughout this prolonged cold period. Enhanced Code Blue protocols have been in place since Friday night and empowered our outreach teams to make 170 placements in shelters, safe havens, stabilization beds, drop-in centers, and hospitals over the weekend. The vast majority of these placements were to shelters.
Just because the storm has passed does not mean that the danger to homeless New Yorkers has passed. Outreach teams are only intensifying their efforts today to connect vulnerable New Yorkers to shelter. This is an all-hands-on-deck effort. And I continue to ask New Yorkers to call 311, which will route these calls to 911 as it is a Code Blue, whenever they see someone who may require assistance.
I also want to ask New Yorkers to continue to stay off the roads as much as possible for another day, as [the] DSNY crew continue to plow our streets. A hazardous travel advisory remains in effect. As we announced yesterday, today is a virtual learning day for our students, with exceptions for high school students and schools serving only grades six through 12 that are observing a previously scheduled professional development day. All after-school programs, adult education, and school-based programming have been canceled. As of 9:15 a.m. this morning, we have over 400,000 parent, student, and staff log-ons.
Again, as a reminder, high school students and grades six through eight students co-located with high school students, had a previously scheduled day off for professional development, so our decision to go remote impacts a portion of our school system, about 500,000 students who are scheduled to be in school on Monday. I did visit a classroom this morning remotely, alongside the chancellor, and reiterated my offer to students that they could pelt me in the face with a snowball. They were very excited about that and asked for a time and place. I said, "You can find me anywhere in New York City."
There remain some interruptions to service. Alternate side parking is suspended today and will also be suspended tomorrow. Payment at parking meters will remain in effect. The Staten Island Ferry is continuing to run on a modified schedule every 20 minutes. And I [also] want to ask New Yorkers to be patient with garbage collection, as DSNY prioritizes snow removal in the immediate short term.
But our city is steadily coming back online. Lift suspension of Citi Bike service has been lifted. The New York City Ferry is running once again and operating at 90 percent capacity. Buses and subways are also running normally, though I would encourage New Yorkers to budget some extra time on their commutes. Our goal is for all services to be fully restored by tomorrow, with all streets cleared, students back at school in person, and our city back to normal, albeit with a lot of snow piled up.
I am grateful to all the New Yorkers who heeded our guidance to stay inside and to practice caution, and to every person who contributed to the citywide effort that allowed us to endure this storm successfully. Please continue to monitor the cold temperatures that we are expecting over this coming week and to look out for one another. As always, New York, stay warm, stay prepared, stay safe. Thank you very much. And now, our chancellor, Kamar Samuels.
Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels, New York City Public Schools: Hello, good morning. So, this morning, I not only logged on with the mayor to a class where we read The Snowy Day, I also logged on with my own daughter before I left home. And so, I was pleased to announce that both times we were able to log on like most of the rest of the city to our classrooms. Things have gone very well this morning, it was a smooth start to the day. Students were able to log into their virtual classroom quickly and get right into their school day.
Schools and families who've been having any issues, can call 718-935-5100. I've known that number forever, even as a principal. And so, we also have 8,000 staff who are on the ground spreading salt, deploying plows and shoveling to make sure that tomorrow we will be ready for school. And I tell all those people, thank you so much for your work. Thank you so much for your support.
We have also opened ten high schools across the city as warming shelters for families, for people looking for shelter, and we have school safety agents deployed in all of those situations. New Yorkers, your schools are a part of the city's ecosystem. We remain connected today, and we will continue to remain connected. And our schools will be ready for opening when the weather permits. Thank you very much.
Commissioner Zach Iscol, New York City Emergency Management: Good morning. I just want to start by thanking the thousands of city employees and volunteers who worked through this weekend shoveling snow, responding to emergencies, serving our most vulnerable, conducting outreach and coordination overnight and in dangerous conditions. From sanitation workers, first responders, DOT crews, park staff, to my team in emergency management, these people really showed up when we needed them most.
And at the same time, this weekend tested us in more ways than one. Alongside the major snowstorm, we faced prolonged extreme cold, as well as two tragic fires in the Bronx. And although snow cleanup is underway, I want to be very, very clear that we are not out of the woods yet. We still have a lot of work to do. Dangerous weather conditions persist throughout the week with frigid temperatures, placing utilities and infrastructures under pressure, and vulnerable New Yorkers remain at risk.
This reality has guided our response from the start. It's guided our planning and will continue to guide our work in the days ahead. And it's important for everyone to understand that as a city, we do have a lot more work to do. This was the first major snowstorm New York City has seen in years. We stayed focused on getting clear, timely information to New Yorkers early and often.
Tens of thousands of New Yorkers signed up for Notify NYC during this storm, so they could stay informed about travel conditions, warming centers, and safety guidance. Knowing is half the battle. Informed New Yorkers make safer decisions, and New Yorkers did exactly that. People stayed off the roads when possible. They checked in on neighbors, and they took advantage of city resources.
We were able to open, as the chancellor said and the mayor, warming centers across all five boroughs. At Emergency Management, we coordinated this response around the clock through our Emergency Operations Center, connecting agencies and partners together 24/7 in real time, ensuring our plows were able to operate across all five boroughs. Emergency crews, police officers, ambulances were able to respond and serve.
The mayor and his team really did a great job empowering agencies to act early, communicate clearly, and work together. The support we received from City Hall throughout these emergencies allowed our agencies to coordinate quickly, act early, and respond efficiently. This made it possible throughout the day yesterday and overnight to move resources where they were needed most, keep New Yorkers informed, and unified our response.
As I prepare to step away as commissioner, I want to just say how lucky I have been alongside the team at Emergency Management and all of our sister agencies. I found that [the] government really is truly at its best when it's a team sport. We've tackled, this team, just about everything from - I'm supposed to get emotional in two weeks, not today - everything from one of the largest humanitarian crises this city has ever [seen] arrived on our shores. Tragic mass shootings, a tragic shipwreck. We've seen record-setting rainfall, heat, [and] other extreme weather. We've had major cyber incidents, space weather, air pollution from Canada, aviation accidents. We've had building collapses, water main breaks, [and] an endless number of fires.
Up until now, my amazing first deputy, Christina Farrell, and I have had it all, except a major snowstorm. And one of the things I want to say is I'm very confident that no matter what the future holds, this team has it. This team is incredible. And Mr. Mayor, I also want to say to you, you really are building a great team here at City Hall. In the short time we've worked together, it's been a busy, busy couple of weeks. And I've seen you and your team show up for New Yorkers on their worst days through five alarm fires and more.
It's been a busy few weeks, and I'm confident that with this team, including your amazing deputy mayor for Operations, Julia Kerson, and so many others, our team at NYCEM, and the thousands of men and women who serve this city, who show up day in and day out for the people of this great city. I know this city is in great, great hands. So, thank you all so much.
Acting Commissioner Javier Lojan, Department of Sanitation: Good morning. Yesterday, 5,000 sanitation workers showed up to drive plows and spread salt on highways, roads, and bike lanes. While everyone else was warm inside or having fun in the snow with loved ones, they were working around the clock to help keep New Yorkers safe. And they're still here. We remain on a full force, 24/7 operation for several days to come, as part of a full cleanup following the storm.
It was the largest and most intense winter storm to hit New York City in about five years, and I want to remind New Yorkers about what to expect from a robust DSNY operation following the storm. Last night and today, we plowed every single street multiple times, running routes consistently and repeatedly based on conditions on the ground. Because of that work today, the streets are passable for emergency vehicles and people who must drive to get to work.
The same is true for bike lanes, which are so critical for New Yorkers in the delivery field. But this is an ongoing process. Those huge mounds of snow can't stay at the corners. They need to be hauled away. And as New Yorkers address their sidewalks or dig out their cars, bike lanes and roadways will still need additional passes from DSNY.
We are not slowing down. We have hundreds of emergency snow shovelers working today, with an emphasis on making sure areas around schools are ready for tomorrow. We have hired extra equipment for snow hauling and ridge breaking, and given the deep and ongoing cold, we will soon activate snow melting operations, setting up large machines that can each melt up to 120 tons per hour.
In short, we will continue to address all conditions throughout the week. Property owners, please remember to shovel and salt your sidewalks, so that pedestrians can get where they need to get to safely. The city is open, and it will get more and more open in the hours ahead, thanks to the work of this department and this administration at large. Thank you.
Question: I just want to address the two fires in the Bronx. Both of them had, unfortunately, deaths related to them. Speaker Menin, as well as Council Member Pierina Ana Sanchez, said that they were concerned about the lack of clarity and coordination when they got to the scene. Particularly with information being communicated to residents, whether it was safe to go back into their homes. Just wanted to get your response on that. And particularly in District 14, we've seen a number of fires, usually it's a big area where we see, they said six fires since December. [Are] there more resources being [inaudible] to that community to address these concerns?
Mayor Mamdani: So, this fire, frankly, the two fires that we saw over the weekend, and this fire that you're asking about specifically, it was a tragedy. And my heart, and for all of us up here, goes out to the family of the deceased. The FDNY was at the scene of that fire about five minutes after the call was placed. The fire was under control within about 80 minutes. And right now, FDNY is conducting a full investigation, as they do.
The preliminary cause that's been shared with us at this point is that of electrical wiring. And our city agencies were on the scene alongside FDNY, including DOB and HPD, to serve residents. And I spoke to Council Member Sanchez directly yesterday evening, and we remained in close coordination to ensure that every single affected resident was given transportation to a hotel.
And what I will say just broadly is, and Commissioner Iscol spoke about this in his own remarks, but a number of the times where we've seen each other have been at five-alarm fires. We've seen each other at a number of the worst moments for New Yorkers. And on Saturday, I was at the first fire that occurred in the Bronx over the weekend. And when I met with the woman in whose home that fire began, and she leaned in for a hug, and I embraced her, I could still smell the ash on her clothing.
And this fire, it consumes people's lives. People lost, in some cases, New Yorkers lost their lives. In far more cases, New Yorkers lost their pets. They lost their belongings. They lost the things that really give them a sense of self. And I'm very thankful, frankly, for our partners in the Council, as well as for our city agencies, and our partners with the American Red Cross. Because what I've seen so often, is that it is a moment of loss, of devastation, and it's at that very moment where people need help the most, and I'm proud of the work that people are doing.
Question: Just to clarify, the Grand [Avenue] fire was electrical?
Mayor Mamdani: Yes, the second fire.
Question: Two sort of forward-leaning questions with this big storm being chased by very, very cold temperatures, particularly in the overnight hours. First, what is the sidewalk clear deadline, and are you worried with this kind of sliding down ice last night, and then already very cold? A lot of New Yorkers just simply won't be able to do it, and then what?
And then also, you mentioned a number of removals of homeless individuals. We did have some people found deceased. Are you doing anything different moving forward into this next phase of the storm and cold as far as getting people off the streets?
Mayor Mamdani: I'll answer the second question first, and then I'm going to pass it over to our Deputy Mayor Kerson for the first question. First and foremost, I send my deepest condolences to the families and the loved ones of those New Yorkers that lost their lives. Any loss of life is truly a tragedy, and that's why we're continuing to urge New Yorkers to get to a safe and warm location, and also if they see anyone who is in need of assistance to call 311, because as we are under a Code Blue, those calls to 311 are then rerouted to calls to 911.
Now, what it means to be in a Code Blue, which continues today and will continue this week, is that shelters have relaxed their intake policies, whereas typically you might have to go through a set of paperwork or processes, have to go to one shelter to go to another. What we are seeing for Code Blue is that no one is turned away from these kinds of shelters, and that is a large reason why we're seeing the successful placement of more than 170 New Yorkers into a wide variety of places, the vast majority being shelters.
I also just want to say a deep note of gratitude to our city workers, especially at the Department of Homeless Services, who have been conducting outreach to homeless New Yorkers every two hours across the city. And what we are seeing that this is also a reminder that if anyone sees someone out in the cold, call that number, connect them with services. We don't want New Yorkers to be out there.
Deputy Mayor Julia Kerson, Operations: So we are looking for people to have cleared the sidewalks in front of their property before 11 a.m. this morning or as soon as possible, and if people see sidewalks that are not cleared, please report that to 311.
Mayor Mamdani: And I'll just say before we go to the next thing, this is also an opportunity for New Yorkers to help others in need. This morning, when we asked students what they were going to do, a number of them spoke about snow angels, spoke about throwing snowballs, and there were also a number of students who spoke about helping their parents with shoveling.
And I think that, you know, yesterday as we were heading back from our press conference, I saw there was about an 85-year-old woman in Astoria who was struggling to shovel, and a very young neighbor of hers came over and started to help her, and then we helped together. And that's the kind of city that we also love and know.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: This is one of the first big challenges of your administration. What have you learned so far about yourself, about your leadership style, and also what have you learned about the city, city resources, the readiness, what's still needed, what really excelled? What have you learned so far?
Mayor Mamdani: Well, I think one of the key things that I've learned is just the immense amount of work that city workers have been putting in. Most of our attention when it comes to a storm like this is when the snow is falling. But the only way that you can actually respond to the level of snowfall we saw is if you're prepared for it. Yesterday, the first snowfall hit Staten Island at 5 a.m. Sanitation trucks were out salting across the city at 5:10 a.m. That's only possible because they made the decision.
And I really want to say also thank you to our commissioner for increasing staffing of our 12-hour shifts, first to 2,000 sanitation workers per 12-hour shift, and then to 2,500 sanitation workers per 12-hour shift. And yesterday when I went [out] at 6 a.m. to welcome a number of the sanitation workers who were coming back from a shift, who were about to go on to another shift for the shift change, what I saw also were the men and women of this city who so often are not recognized in the work that we're talking about.
Our City government's ability to meet this moment, it is in part because of the leadership of everyone up here, and it is also in large part, frankly, because of the work of the men and women whose names most New Yorkers will never know, whose work they will never see. And I also think the other thing I'd say is for all that's said about our city, that we are always in a hurry, that we are brash, that we are rude, what I think sometimes gets missed is just how much New Yorkers care for each other.
And yesterday as I went through the city, I saw so many New Yorkers who were just lending a helping hand to people whose names they didn't know, whose stories they didn't know, but all they knew about them was that they too were New Yorkers, they too deserved a helping hand.
Question: What have you learned about yourself, your own leadership style?
Mayor Mamdani: That people care a lot if I don't wear a hat. And I will tell you, I was brushing it off and then towards the end of the day, my hair started to freeze and I put on a NYCEM beanie and I was much warmer. So I appreciate the feedback. I will take it moving forward.
Question: If I understand it correctly, Code Blue, doesn't Code Blue, in addition to being relaxed shelter rules, also mean that people, if they're outside in life-threatening temperatures, can be forced to come off the streets? Isn't that also part of Code Blue? And is that happening? I wonder if you can give me a sense, or anyone, how many times has that happened in this storm where someone has been told, "No, you can't stay here, you have to come in?"
And then also, is there anything else you can tell us to fill in the blanks on the circumstances of the deaths of those people who we initially thought might have been homeless but ended up not being homeless?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, I think I'll answer the second question, then I'll pass it over for the first. I think this is part and parcel of any fast-moving situation, that we always want to share with New Yorkers what we know at the time. And so, at this time, what we know is that a number of those seven New Yorkers who lost their lives had interactions with our shelter system in the past. It is still too early to share a broader diagnosis or a cause of death. However, as you've said, and I think as many New Yorkers know, this kind of cold, we haven't seen this kind of cold for eight years, and it is debilitating.
Yesterday, we were driving over the Triborough, I think it was, and as we were driving, I saw a man who had pulled over his car. We stopped, I went out, and he had tried to avoid a car that had made a sudden stop and in doing so had skidded over to the side of the bridge. And he came out, and he told me - he was telling me what happened. We were calling TBTA, we were looking to get a tow truck for him. I called his boss, [and] I said, "Please give him a few more hours before he can get there." He's a security guard. The boss didn't believe that it was me. We went back and forth. He finally believed it.
And I looked over at this man, and he was wearing a jacket, and I [told] him, "You should zip up your jacket. It's very cold." He said, "My zipper is broken." And the reason I share this with you is that there are many New Yorkers who are having to go through these kinds of conditions without everything that they need. And too often, they're made to feel as if it's their responsibility. And I want to make [it] very clear from our City government that actually we view your problems as our problems. We want to be there to help you.
And what I've seen city workers do in providing that kind of warmth, you know, on Saturday morning when I went to the warming center after we saw that fire in the Bronx, and I was there alongside Speaker Heastie and State Senator Jamaal Bailey and Council Member Kevin Riley, was that New Yorkers were at a loss of what could happen next. This was before the worst of the storm was to hit. What could they do? And it was through kindness, the service of city workers and also the American Red Cross that they were finding a moment to get a sense of themselves. So I'll pass it over for your first question. You're very welcome.
Commissioner Molly Wasow Park, Department of Social Services: Good morning. Yes. If an individual is in danger, right, danger to themselves or to others, we will involuntarily remove individuals to the hospital. That is our solution of last resort. Wherever possible, we really try to build relationships and trust with the individuals that we serve. Over this weekend, there were three involuntary removals to the hospital.
But as the mayor has noted, [there will be] many, many more voluntary removals. And that is based on the long history and relationship building that outreach workers do and to convince people that this is in fact a truly exceptional circumstance and they need to accept a placement.
Question: So did you give the guy a jacket?
Mayor Mamdani: No, we actually put him in his car and gave him hand warmers [and] got the heat back up.
Question: I wanted to ask, one of the things I noticed and I've heard complaints from people, is that bus stops haven't been cleared and even crosswalks, like even this morning coming to City Hall Park Place and Broadway, it was about two feet high when they cleared the sidewalk. So whose responsibility is it particularly for bus stops?
I saw yesterday tons of elderly getting on buses and it's difficult for people to climb over the snow pile. So I don't know if that's the property owners who have the bus stops in front or whose responsibility is that? And if the city will step in to get some of these cleared.
Deputy Mayor Kerson: It is the Department of Transportation's responsibility to clear bus stops, and we have activated extra resources from our contractor and our DOT staff to be working on that. This was sort of an extraordinary amount of snow and as you know, all of our workers are working to do everything around the city to clear snow in front of their properties. But we are working to clear all those bus stops.
Question: Do you [inaudible] on how many were cleared? And I saw, you know, anecdotally a photo of Brooklyn, but I can tell you like Queens Boulevard yesterday, [inaudible], none of the bus stops were cleared and the buses were still running so do you have data on how many bus stops were cleared yesterday and today?
Deputy Mayor Kerson: Not immediately, but people should report those when they see them so that we can respond.
Question: I want to go back to the question about the people, the homeless people who are on the streets. And I know that getting 170 people into shelter is momentous and hard to do, but there are sometimes three or 4,000 people on the street at any given time. I'm wondering when you do this outreach, where are you going? Are you going to the encampments? Are you going to the subways? Are you going to the other places where people seek warmth to try to continue to come out of the cold? And how do you feel about the fact that some people have to be brought in involuntarily, especially since the man apparently froze to death at the Junction Park in Queens?
Mayor Mamdani: I think the work of these incredible city outreach workers is both of their own planning, where they know where they have to go to actually find and meet and make the case to homeless New Yorkers, but also it's in response to New Yorkers calls to 311. And that's why it's so helpful is that I know there are so many New Yorkers who see someone out in this kind of cold and know what we all know, which is that no one should be out in this kind of cold. And when they make that phone call, that also informs where the outreach workers are going.
So it has to be proactive. [We] cannot wait for homeless New Yorkers to come to us. We have to go out there and make the case directly. And I think that the 170 placements, as you said, it's not only a testament to the outreach work that's being done, it's also a glimpse into the far larger number of conversations that are being had. And then when it comes to involuntary commitment, I think as was said, this is a last resort. However, it is a resort when it is of a medical danger to a New Yorker to stay out there.
Question: How frustrated are you as a mayor who cares about people, when you know that there are three or four thousand people on the street, and you can only get 170 to come in and get shelter and you know it's going to be colder and colder as the week goes on.
Mayor Mamdani: You know, I think first I would say the census of homeless New Yorkers, especially in a moment of this kind of cold, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what it has been over these last few days. However, there is a HOPE count coming up this week where we will get a more accurate number of how many New Yorkers are homeless here across our city. For me, this is a moment where the city can show itself as a government that can meet the needs of New Yorkers and also one that has to listen to New Yorkers.
Because, Marcia, you know, you had flagged in the past that you'd spoken to a homeless New Yorker who didn't want to go to a shelter because they didn't think that they would be offered a single bed on their own. And so part of our outreach has also been how do we ensure we're offering a wide variety of options for a New Yorker to come in? Because the most important thing is to get that New Yorker off the street, get them into the warmth. I can tell you that the cold, we pride ourselves on being tough in the city, but after eight years of not facing this kind of cold, we might be numb to what it actually means for people.
And the other thing, I would just say, is the dangers are not just in the conditions, but also how we respond to the conditions. So for those who are shoveling and who have been shoveling, we remind you to give yourself multiple passes at that snow, not to try to get it all done in one go. The FDNY has also shared with us, you know, in the past there have been medical emergencies as a result of not taking the correct approach with snow shoveling. And don't find your form from the way that I do it.
Question: Because that man that I spoke to, your staff actually got him a bed, a single bed, and he went in and got shelter. So he wasn't on the street because of that.
Mayor Mamdani: Thank you, Marcia. That was also because of you having flagged that. I appreciate that.
Question: Mr. Mayor, you seem to have been all over the place yesterday. Can you talk about that, and where you went, and what did you want to see or look for or look at? And number two, do you plan on having all schools open tomorrow?
Mayor Mamdani: That is our hope. And that's what we're planning for right now. We will share as soon as we get to the definitive. I will tell you that, you know, yesterday began early, but frankly, that's the time it began for many New Yorkers who are working hard, right?
I was out of the house, I think, before 5 a.m. We headed out to the shift change. And then from there at the shift change, we went to Central Park, where we saw a number of other workers who were hard at work shoveling. From there, we went to a press conference. And then from there, we drove through a number of neighborhoods just on our way back to just keep an eye out.
[There] was one instance where somebody was trying to get their car out. We all got a shovel, helped them out. There was another where somebody at a NYCHA development was trying to get their car in. And we met them at the beginning of the parking lot. They had an entire bed of snow. It was an uncle and his three nephews, with one shovel. And so we got to work and helped them in.
We drove into Queens. You know, we met a man whose tires were far too low, and he was not able to drive through the street. So we shoveled, we got him out. And then we were about to call Sanitation, and then there they were. There were two plow trucks that were just right there coming in at the perfect time. We went through Astoria, and this is all on the way back to Gracie, and that's where we saw this 85-year-old woman who was trying to shovel. There was a 20-something-year-old young woman who was helping her. We started to help her.
There were a whole number of situations that we saw. But I think at the heart of it was just - yesterday was a glimpse into what city workers do every single day. And truly, the depth of my appreciation - I don't know if I can fully communicate it - because they are doing the impossible. They are doing the incredible. And for them, it's the ordinary. And that's just a testament to the incredible people we have here and the leadership that also leads them every single day. Thank you.
Question: I spoke to Queensborough President Donovan Richards last night, and I asked him for his assessment. He said as of last night, he would give you an A. But one thing he was seeing - and he acknowledges this is not the city's responsibility - but he got complaints of people being stuck on the highways. And I was wondering if that was something that the city noticed too. And his question was: "Could there have been better coordination between the city and state on clearing those highways and getting people moving?" Because he said his own mother got stuck on the highway.
Deputy Mayor Kerson: As Commissioner Iscol mentioned, in our Emergency Operations Center, we had dozens of agencies represented, including state agencies. And actually, the Tow Truck Task Force was coordinating tow trucks across the city, including on highways that are maybe state-owned. And so, we were responding in real time to everything that was happening - city, state, even some federal level coordination.
Question: This question is for Molly. Can she elaborate on the three folks who were forcibly removed, like the circumstances of it? And second, have the Adams-era shelter rules relating to migrants been relaxed? And if they have, when must migrants leave the shelters?
Commissioner Wasow Park: I'm not going to get into the details of the three specific cases. I want to protect people's medical privacy. And an individual who is not appropriately dressed, who is wet, who is unable to acknowledge that there are real dangers, that is the kind of instance, particularly in this weather, where we will take somebody to the hospital.
And I do want to stress, these are decisions that are made by clinicians, and the next step is to take somebody to a hospital where a doctor can assess them fully and determine what the next step is there. So. this isn't, it's not incarceration, and it's not involuntarily removing people to shelter. It really is about medical decision-making.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Commissioner Wasow Park: We'll take the people to the emergency department, and the doctors there will make the appropriate decision. With respect to the asylum seekers, there is only one designated asylum seeker site left in the city. That's the Bruckner site that's operated by the Housing Recovery Office. There are no discharges happening at this time.
Question: When must they leave? Do you not know yet?
Commissioner Wasow Park: The long-term plan for the Bruckner site is still under development, but there are no time limits on their shelter stays.
Question: Every migrant who needs shelter can get shelter [inaudible]?
Commissioner Wasow Park: Anybody in the City of New York who needs shelter can get shelter.
Question: I just want to get some clarity. I know you're not pinpointing the cause of death, but at this time, is New York City attributing the seven deaths to this storm? That's one question, if we could get just some real clarity on that. And then the second question, I wonder if you're ready to give - I think this was part of the question that was previously being asked - if you'd give yourself and the city's response a grade for how you've done so far.
And what was kind of your, you've talked about this, but what was your strategy going in? I know you looked at the kind of the failures of the past, but there was a lot more that went on in terms of the response in your particular role and presence during this time around. So feel free to give yourself and the rest of the response and the people behind you.
Mayor Mamdani: I will leave it to New Yorkers to give me a grade. I will, however, say that I am incredibly impressed and appreciative of the work of the city workers, both their leadership here and all of them who are out there across New York City. I think that for so many New Yorkers, for all of the conversation about politics, really what they want to know is, can you meet their basic needs? And I think what city workers showed yesterday is that we can. And it's only possible if you take time in advance to prepare for something like this.
And so when I look at these commissioners, when I look at the heads of these agencies and departments, what I also see are not what they did, frankly, on Sunday or even on Saturday, but frankly, what they were doing on Thursday and Wednesday. The calls that they were having, the plan that they were having, procuring additional salt for the city just in case. We had to be ready for every eventuality. We were talking about a wide spectrum of possibility of snowfall.
And I wanted to make sure that if anything, we were over-prepared and we were over-communicating to New Yorkers, because what we did not want to have happen was that a New Yorker would go about their day on Sunday without knowing that this would be the coldest weather they'd seen in eight years. Without knowing that this would be the largest snowfall we'd seen in years. We wanted every New Yorker to know that.
And I'm also appreciative of those that are working behind the scenes. I've had a few opportunities to meet them, but even the incredible men and women who run Notify NYC. More than a million New Yorkers [have] signed up to a texting system, which you can also join by texting NOTIFYNYC to 692-692. And when you do so, you get updates that can even be localized to your zip code. And that helps New Yorkers stay abreast.
And I'd also just frankly say thank you to the press corps, because oftentimes the questions that you're asking are amplifying the concerns of everyday New Yorkers. And so that helps bring it to the attention of [the] City government. We want our government to be a responsive one, we want it to be an excellent one and an efficient one.
And about your first question. I think that the difficulty we have, frankly, is that it is still too early to attribute the cause of death, and therefore, it's too early to tie it to the storm specifically. But as soon as we have those autopsy results, which we anticipate at some time soon, we will be able to answer both that question and the earlier questions.
Question: And you said that all of the individuals, or most of them had an interaction?
Mayor Mamdani: Some of them, yes, had an interaction with the shelter system.
Question: Any sense of the cost that this storm cost the city, in terms of [the Department of] Sanitation, extra overtime?
Deputy Mayor Kerson: I'll just note that it's not over, so we're still doing our response, and we'll be doing that throughout the week. But also, we will do whatever needs to be done to make sure New Yorkers are taken care of. That's the most important thing.
Question: For the deputy mayor for Operations, I was wondering if you could walk us through a little bit about what that 311 review looked like of prior storms, and what sort of neighborhoods you identified, and how to characterize the response to this storm.
Deputy Mayor Kerson: So we have a monitoring capability to be looking at 311 completes as they are happening during the storm in real time. And we also did a review of 311 complaints over the last few storms. We specifically wanted to focus on complaints around properties that we own to make sure that we're doing our part.
And then we let all of our agencies know the specific locations that were issued in the last few storms, so that they could target those locations and make sure that they were clearing sidewalks in front of city-owned property. We want to make sure we're doing our part, as we're asking New Yorkers to do their part as well.
Question: I'm wondering, you know, you've mentioned that you're planning to reopen schools tomorrow. We're talking about clearing the sidewalks. Is there a concern about refreezing overnight? Have you spoken with the chancellor about the possibility of another day of virtual learning? And, you know, when can families expect to get an update, if there is one, as far as virtual learning?
Mayor Mamdani: So I think this is part of what the chancellor had shared earlier, which is that right now, there are hundreds of DOE employees who are also supplementing the work of DSNY, as well as many other city agencies and departments, in clearing the snow right outside of schools to make sure that it is safe for students to actually return.
I think that's just, to be clear, that's what drives all of our decisions, is safety. That's why we made the decision for today to be remote, because the conditions were so hazardous that we didn't want there to be so many more New Yorkers who were out having to come to school. We're going to be sharing that decision with New Yorkers soon, around tomorrow and the days to come. However, what I will say is that our hope is to ensure that we return to in-person learning.
Question: I wanted to ask about power outages, and if you've talked to the state about reaching out to Con Ed, and do you have any tips or advice for the New Yorkers with current outages out in parts of Brooklyn?
Mayor Mamdani: Can you say the last part one more time? Do you have any tips and advice?
Question: Any tips or advice for the New Yorkers that are currently in the cold because of the outages?
Mayor Mamdani: I think the first thing I would say is to call 311 immediately. The city wants to know if you are facing any kind of an outage of this kind. It is also our job to help you respond to this. And yesterday, when we had an emergency briefing, we also had representatives from Con Ed there as well, because it is critical for us to not just work as a whole-of-city-government approach, but frankly, an approach that encompasses everything that affects New Yorkers' lives.
They're affected by state government decisions, City government decisions, by private companies' decisions, and so we want to actually have that cohered. So the number one thing would be, call 311 if you're facing an outage. The city wants to know. The city wants to help.
And the other thing I would just say, I've spoken a lot about safety in the context of staying inside, staying warm, avoiding unnecessary travel. I would also say in a moment of immense cold, to be mindful with space heaters, that you do not leave them running unattended, and that you also do not have them operating within three feet of something that is flammable.
Question: Yesterday, you told students they could throw a snowball at you if they were upset. Has anyone done that yet?
Mayor Mamdani: Not yet. A number of the kids this morning were very excited about it. So I feel like it could occur at some point today. Just on my toes.
Question: Last week, we reported that your Law Department is suing to stop the production of this TV show, Behind the Badge, as well as [that] Kaz Daughtry is going to Homeland Security. So I just had two questions. One, are you in touch with Mr. Daughtry at all in his new position, or soon-to-be new position? And two, have you seen the footage of this show? And do you have any reaction to how much access these camera crews got to crime scenes?
Mayor Mamdani: I am not personally in touch with Mr. Daughtry. And I have not seen the footage myself of this show. I can tell you, however, that we're continuing a preexisting Law Department policy on their action that they're taking. Okay. Thank you all so much.
