Mayor Mamdani urged New Yorkers to stay out of the heat in the coming days as temperatures are expected to rise into the 100s.
Feels-like temperatures could rise as high as 112 degrees in the coming days, the mayor said, and the city is under an extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. on Friday.
The city has taken a slate of actions to help sweating citydwellers find refuge from the heat, including opening up additional cooling centers and expanding pool hours.
Around 600 outreach workers will also canvas the streets looking for those in need of help, and city workers will also be working to check in on seniors to make sure they’re healthy during the heatwave.
“We wanna be clear with people: our city loses about 500 people a year to heat-related illness,” Mamdani said on WFAN Wednesday morning. “We want everyone to take this very seriously. And what we’re also trying to do is make it as easy as possible to stay cool.”
Directions to the nearest cooling centers will be displayed on LinkNYC kiosks across the city.
In addition, 15 cooling vans from NYC Health & Hospitals will distribute water, electrolytes and sunscreen, as well as provide wellness checks, medical care, and transportation to medical facilities or stationary cooling centers. The vans will have a registered nurse or nurse practitioner on board, and meals and snacks. Pop-up cooling stations operated by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will also be available.
The city has also put a pause on evictions on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Department of Investigation, which issued a memo to marshals. Around 40 evictions happen per day in New York City on average, per city data.
The heatwave comes months after the spate of cold weather that led to two dozen deaths in February. While the mayor doesn’t control the mercury, the city’s response to it will likely similarly be seen as another test of the mayor’s leadership.
Mamdani also said Wednesday that the city’s been working with Con Ed, National Grid and other utility companies to prepare for the heat.