Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday that 16 people have been discovered dead outdoors across New York City since a severe cold spell set in more than a week ago.

According to the mayor, initial assessments show that most of the deaths were linked directly to the extreme temperatures. Of the 16 fatalities recorded since Jan. 24, 13 appear to have resulted from hypothermia, while three were attributed to drug overdoses.

City officials said none of the individuals were found inside homeless encampments, even as some advocates and critics have urged the city to dismantle such sites, arguing they pose safety risks for people reluctant to enter shelters.

In response to the ongoing crisis, Mamdani said the city has intensified its outreach efforts, deploying teams around the clock to locate people living outdoors and persuade them to seek shelter indoors.

“We’ve expanded more 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,” the mayor said.

Mamdani added that since the cold snap began, outreach workers have succeeded in bringing roughly 1,000 people indoors.

Beyond the humanitarian response, city agencies continue to work on clearing snow and ice. Mamdani said multiple departments are assisting sanitation crews as they clear streets, sidewalks, curbs, and corners throughout the city.

Although temperatures are expected to inch slightly higher this week — with daytime highs hovering around 32 degrees on Monday and Tuesday — conditions are forecast to remain near freezing for the rest of the week. Officials noted that if the pattern continues, the city could be experiencing its longest stretch of freezing weather in 65 years.

{Matzav.com}