Mayor Zohran Mamdani: Good morning, everyone. I want to begin with just a few words about the winter weather that continues to linger across our city. First, city workers continue their remarkable efforts to lift millions of tons of snow off of city streets. DSNY workers have worked relentlessly to melt over a 122 million pounds of snow and to lay more than 209 million pounds of salt across New York. As of 8 a.m. this morning, workers have cleared 44,646 crosswalks, 16,532 bus stops and 9,764 fire hydrants. A severe cold front continues to bear down on our city.
Today is our 11th consecutive day of below-freezing weather, and we could very well be in the middle of the longest period of consecutive sub-32-degree weather in our city's entire history. Without temperatures rising above freezing, snow has hardened into blocks of ice. But the greatest danger posed by the sustained cold is to vulnerable New Yorkers who remain exposed to the elements.
As of this morning, 16 of our fellow New Yorkers have passed away outside during this brutal stretch of cold. In 13 of these cases, preliminary findings indicate that hypothermia played a role, and three of these deaths appear to be overdose deaths. We await final results from the medical examiner's office and will inform New Yorkers as we learn more. Each of these lives lost is a tragedy. My heart was at the family of those mourning their loved ones. We are continuing to do everything in our power to get every New Yorker into a shelter, where they will be warm.
The cold is showing no signs of stopping, so neither will the city's efforts. From information available now, it appears that none of the individuals who have died outside were living in homeless encampments at the time of their death. New York remains in a Code Blue. If you see someone in need, please call 311, [where] outreach workers and first responders from the NYPD and FDNY, will respond and get those New Yorkers the help that they need.
Our outreach workers have only intensified their work to get homeless New Yorkers into shelter. We continue to operate warming sites and warming vehicles across the five boroughs. We have expanded shelter capacity, relaxed intake rules and are working with our partners across the city to increase outreach. As of this morning, we have made more than 930 placements to shelters and safe havens. We have also involuntarily transported 18 New Yorkers who were determined to be a danger to themselves or to others. We have expanded our mobile warming units to a fleet of 20, which are moving throughout the city, equipped with clinical staff to treat New Yorkers needs and get them off the street. If you are hearing me speak right now, and you are not sure if you will be looked after, please let me make myself clear: every single person will be cared for. No one will be turned away. As part of that commitment, we have added 50 new single room shelter units for those who are uncomfortable with other forms of shelter because we want every New Yorker to know that shelter is there if they need it.
And as I said this weekend, while [the] City government will not rest in this work, we ask New Yorkers to do their part as well. Please check in on your neighbors, especially more vulnerable New Yorkers like those with disabilities, older adults and those who lack reliable access to heat. We will get through this cold, and we will get through it together by looking out for one another and by caring for one another.
Now, for today's remarks. On January 1st, 1990, 36 years, one month and one day ago, David Dinkins was sworn in as the first Black mayor of our incredible city. As he delivered his inaugural address that day, he laid out a vision for all of us. We will never be mean spirited, and we must never lose sight of our dreams. We are together today to not only pay homage to the legacy of a great New Yorker, but to fulfill those words as we make it just a little bit easier for New Yorkers to keep sight of our dreams and of the city, we all love.
As we mark Black History Month, we are celebrating a city that has been sculpted in millions of ways by millions of Black New Yorkers. Those who walk our streets today and those who came before. They are jazz musicians who reinvented what music could be; academics and scientists, who push forward the scope and scale of human thought; artists of all kinds, whose canvases captured the true breath of this city and all who call it home; and politicians like Mayor Dinkins, who made our city better, fairer and more aspirational.
In many ways, Mayor Dinkins was ahead of his time. He tied racial justice to economic justice, worked tirelessly to uplift poor New Yorkers and strive to close the gap between the wealthiest of this city and the most impoverished. He uplifted at-risk youth, invested in the physical infrastructure of our city and worked to unify a city that remained in many ways divided along racial lines. He spoke famously of the gorgeous mosaic that is New York, but he recognized that speaking of it wasn't enough.
The tile still had to be placed, the image carefully aligned and from City Hall, Mayor Dinkins tended to that very mosaic from the tower here on the 26th floor of 1 Centre Street, also known as the David Dinkins Municipal Building. That mosaic reveals itself in its gorgeous totality. You can see a 360-degree view of our city from midtown towers to the Atlantic Ocean, from the Brooklyn Bridge to New Jersey. And yet for too long, New Yorkers haven't been able to access this view. It's been closed off to the very people that should be seeing it.
As we celebrate Mayor Dinkins legacy, we are changing that. And I am proud to announce today, that we are going to open the rooftop of the David Dinkins Municipal Building to the public of this city. Beginning in June, we will start offering free guided tours led by DCAS staff. Visitors will be able to reserve tickets online. We're also going to invest $6 million to improve this building as we repaint the cupola, repair the rotunda, add glass barriers and restore this one-of-a-kind civic space to a landmark befitting Mayor Dinkins name.
Mayor Dinkins paved the way for so many who followed. He was not only the first Black mayor, [but] he was also the first to have been a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and his politics of compassion, kindness and generosity remain a guide for me and so many others, as we lead from City Hall.
I'm thankful for his family for being here today with us, and I am thankful for the opportunity to stand here alongside incredible elected officials and our commissioner of DCAS to honor this great New Yorker and to encourage the next generation of New Yorkers to enjoy a new perspective of our city from the building named after a man who helped to shape that same city. Thank you very much. And now our commissioner, Yume Kitasei.
Commissioner Yume Kitasei, Department of Citywide Administrative Services: My name is Yume Kitasei and I am the commissioner for the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. I'm excited to join you all today as we announced this important renovation project here at 1 Centre Street. Now, no shade to City Hall, but it's my duty as commissioner to tell you that 1 Centre Street, the David Dinkins building, is the heart and soul of municipal government. 1 Centre Street houses numerous critically important organizations, including my colleagues here, the three elected officials, multiple city agencies and, of course, DCAS.
Beyond the building's practical and architectural significance to the city, it's also [a] symbolic landmark. [The building] was constructed over a century ago, and it represents our city's longstanding commitment to public service. And from here, where we stand on the 25th floor, we can see the cupola, one of the most recognizable and iconic features of the historic building rising above us. Over the years, the tower has stood witness to generations of civil servants. It's now our responsibility to make sure it stays resilient and beautiful for decades to come.
To preserve its legacy, we're excited to announce this major rehabilitation effort, and through this $6 million project, we'll be completing a variety of thorough exterior and interior renovations. This will restore the tower visually and strengthen its functionality through upgrades such [as] a safety glass, ceiling netting and overall extend the life of the facility. Perhaps most exciting, we are thrilled that will be providing public access to the studying piece of history, and through its increased accessibility, we will open up the previously closed section, as the mayor mentioned to tours, which we are excited to lead.
We're gonna make it an iconic building, a must-see bucket item for all New Yorkers. Before I could conclude, I just want to offer thanks to Mayor Mamdani for prioritizing this renovation and to our DCAS facilities management construction team who have been spearheading this effort, and also [who] came out here this morning to shovel all the snow off of this roof. Thanks to all of our partners involved in this project as well. Your dedication helps the historic spaces like this, continue to inspire and serve New Yorkers, and we are very excited to see the finished tower the summer, and I'm looking forward to celebrating its completion with all of you together. Thank you.
Mayor Mamdani: Now our comptroller, Mark Levine.
Comptroller Mark Levine: Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. We tortured the press corps on Inauguration Day for four hours on the plaza. I agree with you, [if I] may. This building is one of the great symbols of the city. It was built for that purpose right after the five boroughs were combined to represent the power of this new government. It was built to have a public observation deck. That's how they did it back then. The Woolworth building had a public observation deck. The Singer building had one. The MetLife building had one. It was this incredible public spirit that New Yorkers should be able to take in these views.
It's a view of the city that is inspiring, something that I know David Dinkins himself often remarked about. He loved to take in the views of the Brooklyn Bridge. He was in this building for more than any other part of his career in City government, fourteen years total. Some of his greatest accomplishments were in this building. He saved uptown Manhattan as borough president, and it meant a great deal to me to spend four years in that office. We still have a shower there, borough president, that Mayor Dinkins used after he would come in from playing tennis. And it still works. Come on by any time, Mr. Mayor, if you want.
But for 90 years, the cupola designed to be open to the public has been closed. And I want to shout out Moses Gates from RPA. He's been agitating for this for years. So that New York can catch up. Madrid has a free public observation tower. Tokyo has one. London has two. Guys, you know Albany has one, right?
[Crosstalk.]
So, we're going to catch up to those great global capitals, Albany accepted, and we're going to make this a public destination for the people of New York City to take in the beauty of this expansive metropolis. And we're not going to come back here until it's at least 80 degrees out. Thank you so much, everybody.
Mayor Mamdani: And now the warmest man on this stage, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams: Peace and Blessings, love and light to everybody. Welcome to the Municipal Building as one of its tenants. I've been staying up this space for a pretty long time, even before I was in office. So, it's awesome to be here. I think this is probably my second time up here, and this is awesome that the city is going to be able to view this. My team has been pushing for public spaces like this one to be open to the public, so I'm very glad that the mayor decided to do that. I would have probably chosen summertime when we could have complained about how hot it is. But I am happy that it'll be open for summertime.
New York's history, like its government, should be for the people. The building is named for David Dinkins, and now New Yorkers will have the opportunity to see the city that David Dinkins, as David Dinkins did, the gorgeous mosaic. We can look around and see our different boroughs. I remember very much when David Dinkins was elected, and as now, again, the highest-ranking elected city who was Black, it is an honor to be here. I remember when Malik from [inaudible] said, "Mr. Dinkins, will you please be my mayor?" That meant a lot to a lot of us who hadn't seen ourselves in government. So now, they'll get to see the patchwork of people who have come together. As you circle this building, [and] as you look out, you'll see neighborhoods built by so many backgrounds woven together through time and community. It really does make the city feel like a miracle.
And I have to add that my comms director, who wrote this sentence, loves designing historical adventures and code-breaking quests that take people to famous sites around the city. So, between this and the scavenger hunt last summer, Mr. Mayor, you're talking to him, and I know the city is better off already for him. Now, as a gift, I'm not gonna read the rest of this because it's really, really cold, but I just want to say thank you so much for opening this up, and the city is going to have a great point of view to look at the gorgeous mosaic that David Dinkins spoke about. Thanks again.
Mayor Mamdani: And now our [Manhattan] borough president, Brad Hoylman-Sigal.
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. [I am] Brad Hoylman-Sigal. What an honor to be here with one former borough president. You know, both of us, during our campaigns had promised to open up the cupola to the public, and you fulfilled our campaign promise. I didn't have to do anything about it, but thank you, Mr. Mayor, for that. You know, it's an honor to be here at the beginning of Black History Month because there [has] been such a history of great leaders in the Manhattan Borough President's Office.
Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman federal judge. Percy Sutton, C. Virginia Fields, and of course, David Dinkins, who we are honoring today in this amazing building. You know, Stanford White, his storied architectural firm, built this building. They had also built the Brooklyn Museum, [and] of course, the demolished Penn Station.
So, I'm sure that those architects wanted the public to see these incredible details, including civic fame, that statue that stands atop and represents the consolidation of the five boroughs. So, thanks to the mayor, you don't have to pay $50 bucks to get up here like you do at the Edge in Hudson Yards, or the Empire State Building, or $50 to go to the Top of The Rock. New Yorkers can see these views for free. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Mamdani: We will never light this building up for the Patriots, and now New Yorkers, when I ask themselves, "Can I view it?" "Yes, you can."
[Crosstalk.]
Question: I wanted to ask about the warming buses across the city. In some experience going out in the Bronx, we saw there was supposed to be a warming bus outside of Jacobi Hospital, and we got there. At the time, the bus was supposed to be there, and we circled, and there was no bus. We went to one at the DeWitt Clinton High School. There was a bus, but no signage for anyone to know that that's a place that they can go to stay warm. So, is there any further outreach you're doing, aside from, you know, letting other government officials know to encourage people to go to these buses? Like, people don't watch the news, people don't have social media. How are they knowing that this is a place they can go to?
Mayor Mamdani: I think, to your point, we can never rest on our laurels as a City government. We have to go out there and tell New Yorkers directly. Yesterday evening, I was at a safe haven site in Midtown Manhattan, and I got the chance to thank a few outreach workers for the work that they're doing. Because as we all shiver up here in this cold, they are spending hours, at all hours of the day, outside looking to speak directly to homeless New Yorkers, to actually tell them of those warming buses and to bring them to those warming buses.
And that direct street outreach is critical, and it has been a significant part of those workers, as well as those at FDNY and NYPD, being able to make nearly 1,000 placements at this point since we initiated Code Blue. And we will continue to share this information to New Yorkers. The most important way will be that direct outreach, but we will use every single avenue available to us. And just to give a sense to New Yorkers of the different options available, we are speaking across the five boroughs of warming buses and vans.
We are speaking of mobile warming units that are equipped with clinicians, as well as resources, and then warming centers as well themselves. And what we are also working with NYCEM to do right now, partially in regards to your question, is to add additional signage outside of these units so that for anyone walking by them, who hasn't actually been met by an outreach worker during their shifts, that they know that these are the units that should be keeping them warm. That signage is going to be rolling out today and tomorrow. And it's important, frankly, that we not just rest on that signage, we not just rest on that direct outreach, but that we continue to use every avenue available to us. We'll continue to do so.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: [Inaudible] that number seems to keep going up day by day. And initially, I think your administration told the Police Department that DSS was going to handle the lead on homeless outreach. And I'm wondering, do you regret that decision at all? And do you think that decision has anything to do with the increasing number of people who have died out in this [inaudible] weather?
Mayor Mamdani: So, I want to be very clear that NYPD has been a part of the outreach efforts throughout Code Blue. They have been a part of it. DSS workers have been a part of it. It's been a whole-of-government approach. And I think the primary issue here is the weather that we are experiencing. We are speaking about already one of the coldest periods in New York City history and what could end up being the coldest period in New York City history. And what these city workers have done, no matter whether they're DSS, NYPD, any other agency, they have done the work of reaching out to New Yorkers to make now nearly 1,000 placements. And we know that that is work that has to continue. That is work that we will not rest [on], so long as this cold continues and so long as there are New Yorkers who are outside.
And I think that, yesterday when I was at that safe haven, I spoke to a number of New Yorkers who were finding warmth within it. And some of them had come in the night before. Some of them, you know, I met a man who told me that he had been living in an airport for five months before he was brought to this shelter. The conditions that people are living through, they are conditions that none of us should be comfortable with. And so, we're going to use every single resource at our disposal to continue to build on this work to open up more shelters, open up more beds, and ensure that New Yorkers are staying warm.
Question: [Inaudible].
Mayor Mamdani: I think, to be very clear just at the top of this, the deaths that we have seen, at this time it does not appear there is any relationship between encampments and what we've seen with these 16 New Yorkers. The policy on encampments, we have long said that it was a failure to pursue a policy in the manner that the previous administration did.
We've said that it's a failure because of its having only connected three New Yorkers with permanent housing over the course of 365 days. So, our policies will continue on the same timeline as they were prior. However, instead of looking to just push New Yorkers from one encampment to another part of this city, we're going to look to emphasize the services that we can connect those New Yorkers with.
Question: Over the weekend, a deadline that President Trump set for himself to pull all the money from Sanctuary City lapsed. I was wondering if you or your administration had heard over the weekend anything from the Trump administration about whether or not they intend to make good on that threat, and if not, is this another example of the president doing TACO or always chickening out?
Mayor Mamdani: What is TACO?
Question: Trump Always Chickens Out.
Mayor Mamdani: Sorry, I wasn't aware of the meme. You know, we have not yet heard any additional information that that date has come and gone. We will continue to stand up for this city and continue to make clear that our values and our laws are not bargaining chips and we will stand up for them if ever they are threatened.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: I've been fielding complaints from people in my neighborhood about the snow removal. Is that due to the weather? Is there a timetable of when you're planning to finish that? Is it a reason because of the weather or is there a certain timetable for when it will get done? And is the city doing outreach in different languages to different communities to communicate about the weather and about this crisis?
Mayor Mamdani: So, I think it's as yes, as you've said, it is primarily due to the weather, whereas typically after snowfall of any kind, rising temperatures would assist in the melting of that snow. Instead, what we are all experiencing is a cold that is continuing at a record pace, frankly. And what that has meant is that the entirety of the city's response is up to the city workers themselves. And what they've been doing is an incredible job. However, it is a job that must continue. And it is also a job that has required us to go beyond the typical.
What I mean by that is that we might typically have just sanitation workers doing a lot of this work. Right now, we have 2,500 [Department of] Sanitation workers working 12-hour shifts, each 12-hour shift rather. And then we now have up to 1,500 additional workers, many of them coming from separate city agencies who are supplementing that work, especially when it comes to bus stops and crosswalks.
And at this time, we're seeing that that's going to continue. What I'm thankful to see is that the pace of cleanup is increasing. And I am hopeful that that continues to be the case across the five boroughs and that we also make this clear, as you've said to New Yorkers in every language that they speak. This is a city of the world. As Mayor Dinkins said, this is a gorgeous mosaic and it's a mosaic that deserves to be spoken to in its own languages.
Question: On the trash collection, sanitation has said they're about a day behind, but there are neighborhoods that are saying the trash has been piled up for multiple days, even though it's record-setting cold [weather]. Has it reached a point in your mind that they've got to pick up the pace because of the way that makes New York City look?
Mayor Mamdani: So, as you've said, sanitation is currently running about 24 hours behind on trash collection. I know that they are working with everything that they have, to come up to speed. And that will continue to be a focus for us, because what we want, is a city where New Yorkers can continue to return back to their lives as they were. We know that this cold is not going to help us. We know that this is going to continue for the next few days. And I think that what city workers are doing is they're increasing their capacity; they're increasing their capabilities. I'm thankful for the work that they're doing.
Question: So, over the weekend, I know that you opened a shelter that had 50 single room beds. And in talking to homeless people, they say they don't want to go to regular shelters. They want those beds. So, my question is, how many people have taken you up on the offer of those 50 rooms? And given the rising death count, do you think you're going to have to open more of those facilities in order to get people to convince them to come in?
Mayor Mamdani: I think we have to use every single option we have to get New Yorkers inside. And as you've said, there are homeless New Yorkers who have made clear their preferences in the kinds of shelter. And a lot of that, to be frank with you, is because of their previous experiences in the shelters that have been offered to them. And so, it's not just about advertising the existing resources. It's about opening additional ones. That work continues. We will be sharing that as it comes.
Question: How many people took you up on those 50 beds that you opened?
Mayor Mamdani: We'll get back to you on that number.
