Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 10 a.m. (New York City time), Council Chambers - City Hall
Committee: Committee on Public Safety
The Committee on Public Safety, jointly with the Committee on General Welfare, held an oversight hearing on New York City's Code Blue operations following a prolonged period of extreme cold during which at least 18 New Yorkers died outdoors. Speaker Julie Menin, Public Safety Chair Oswald Feliz, and General Welfare Chair Crystal Hudson, along with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, questioned officials from the Department of Social Services (including DHS), NYC Emergency Management, NYPD, Health + Hospitals, the Chief Medical Examiner, and FDNY about outreach staffing, warming buses and centers, involuntary removals, hospital discharges, and the death toll. Commissioners Molly Wasow Park (DSS) and Zach Iscol (NYCEM), both in their final days of service, testified about the response, with Iscol committing to an after-action report. Roughly twenty members of the public and advocacy organizations testified, urging expansion of low-barrier shelter, suspension of evictions during Code Blue, better data sharing, and improved funding for outreach and EMS. No legislation was voted on; the hearing was purely oversight.
0:06 Got you. Please take you
0:06 rseats we beginning shortly.
0:20 Good morning. Good morning
0:20 .welcome to the New York City
0:22 council hearing on the
0:23 committee on general webber
0:24 joint with public safety at
0:26 this time, please. Sounds
0:27 electronics and do not
0:28 approach. The day is I repeat,
0:30 please do not approach the
0:31 days. If you were a testimony
0:33 today pull out a slip with a
0:34 sergeant at arms at the back
0:35 .thank you for your cooperation
0:36 , you begin. Well, we have a
0:41 faulty gavel. I won't take
0:42 that as a bad sign, but
0:44 . Okay. Good afternoon and
0:46 welcome to today's oversight
0:47 hearing on New York city's
0:49 code blue operations. I'm
0:51 Julie, speaker of the New York
0:52 City Council and I first o
0:53 fall want to begin by thanking
0:55 you all for being here. I want
0:57 to thank my colleagues,
0:59 Council Member esque who
1:02 chairs our public safety
1:03 committee Council Member
1:05 Crystal Hudson, chairs our
1:06 committee on general welfare,
1:07 and so I want to thank them
1:09 and all of you for being here
1:11 for today's emergency hearing
1:15 as New yorkers we have
1:16 collectively endured extreme
1:17 weather over the past several
1:20 weeks we've shoveled our
1:21 neighbors sidewalks we've
1:22 navigated remote learning with
1:24 our students and we've checked
1:26 in on vulnerable New yorkers
1:28 to ensure their safety.
1:32 We are here today, though,
1:33 because 18 New yorkers have
1:34 lost their lives since the
1:36 City declared code blue. These
1:38 deaths are not inevitable.
1:42 They are the result of gaps
1:43 and outreach shelter, capacit
1:45 y, mental health services and
1:47 follow up every person who
1:48 freezes to death in this City
1:50 is a reminder that systems
1:52 that are designed to protect
1:54 human life are failing the
1:55 people who need them most code
1:59 blue literally refers to an
2:00 emergency notice that is it
2:02 automatically during winter
2:03 nights when the temperature
2:05 drops to 32 deg. Fahrenheit or
2:10 below
2:11 mlongest cold snaps in recenten
2:18 years as a City. The response
2:20 to such an endured period of
2:22 freezing weather is is
2:24 obviously complex and
2:27 difficult, but our number one
2:29 priority must be on protecting
2:32 and preserving the lives of
2:33 vulnerable New yorkers. We
2:35 must remain constantly
2:37 vigilant and helping those who
2:38 need our help the most and you
2:40 must help those New yorkers
2:42 who cannot help themselves get
2:44 access to a warm and self
2:47 place that is the humane thing
2:50 to do. What is not humane is
2:51 allowing New yorkers to linger
2:52 on the streets knowing tha
2:53 tthey will die in these
2:56 freezing extreme weather
2:58 conditions. Blue means action.
3:00 It means urgency, and it also
3:03 means deep care, but for too
3:05 many New yorkers experiencing
3:06 homelessness in our City this
3:08 winter. Code blu ise a warning
3:11 that unfortunately came too
3:12 late. I would like to take a
3:13 moment to name and recognize
3:15 just a few of the 18 New
3:17 yorkers who passed away
3:19 frederick jones 67 years old
3:20 of midtown manhattan who was
3:22 under an adult protective
3:24 services guardianship and who
3:26 was found by emergency workers
3:27 about a mile away from his
3:31 building. Barbara souter, 64,
3:33 who was found dead last
3:34 Saturday morning, it was
3:35 identified by law enforcement
3:37 as having been on housed
3:39 another man who was 60 years
3:41 old was found outside of st
3:44 barnabus hospital before he
3:46 was rushed inside where he was
3:48 tragically declared dead know
3:51 berto, jimbo. Niall life 5
3:53 2years old, originally from
3:54 ecuador and found on a park
3:56 bench in queens with
3:58 discharged papers from
4:01 elmhurst hospital. These New
4:02 yorkers should be alive today
4:04 in 20 25 the hope count
4:07 identified 4504 unsheltered
4:10 individuals in New York City
4:12 .this was 364 more individuals
4:15 and in 20 24 and 9% percen
4:20 tincrease when temperatures
4:22 drop our responsibility to
4:24 each of these New yorkers
4:26 rises. That.
4:27 Means meeting people where
4:29 they are expanding safe and
4:32 dignified shelter options,
4:34 improving coordination across
4:36 City agencies and treating
4:37 this crisis with intense
4:41 seriousness data from the New
4:42 York City department of health
4:43 , environment and health data
4:45 porta indicates that cold
4:47 stress deaths or deaths that
4:48 are due to cold weather have
4:51 increased citywide since 20 16
4:54 . Similarly, the number of
4:56 cold related emergency room
4:57 visits such as for hypothermia
5:00 , frostbite and worsened
5:01 chronic conditions due to the
5:03 cold have unfortunately also
5:05 increased while recognize that
5:07 this period of code blue
5:10 presents significant
5:11 challenges. We must do better
5:14 . It is imperative that we
5:15 here today from City agenesci
5:16 under what they are doing t
5:18 oimprove operations and
5:20 outreach during this time to
5:21 protect the lives of
5:23 unsheltered New yorkers and
5:24 ensure that they have what
5:26 they need to stay safe. I
5:28 first of all want, want to
5:30 thank the administration for
5:31 being here today to testify
5:32 .want, want to thank the chairs
5:33 and all of my colleagues who
5:34 are here today for this very
5:36 important hearing and now I'm
5:37 going to turn it over to m
5:39 ycolleague, cancer member Phil
5:40 is for his opening statement
5:43 .thank you, speaker man and
5:44 good morning, everyone. I am
5:46 Council Member Oswald Feliz,
5:47 of the committee on public
5:49 safety. I want to thanks us
5:51 the speaker for her leadership
5:52 on this critically important
5:54 issue and chair Hudson for
5:55 partnering with me for today
5:57 is urgent hearing on New York
5:59 City code blue operations. I
6:02 would also like to acknowledge
6:03 we've been joined by council
6:04 members avila's and carnation.
6:07 Thank you for joining us
6:11 today when emergencies arrives
6:12 . New yorkers should have full
6:14 confidence that their local
6:16 government is fully prepared,
6:17 ready to respond efficiently
6:20 and effectively, especially
6:21 when dealing with the health
6:22 and safety of our most
6:24 vulnerable and yorkers
6:28 homeless populations.
6:29 Keeping New yorkers safe is
6:29 one of the most important
6:31 duties of City government. Our
6:34 preparation was tested in
6:36 recent weeks when freezing
6:37 temperatures triggered the of
6:39 a crowd blue emergency notice
6:42 as you've.
6:42 Been hearing when this
6:43 notice takes the facts a
6:44 certain motion of series of
6:45 obligations our City agencie
6:49 smarched, undertake to ensure
6:50 that everyone is all the and
6:52 in our safe and warm location.
6:57 While the department of
6:58 homeless services generally
6:58 takes the lead in responding
7:00 during code blue and under
7:02 efforts to relax admissions
7:04 policies expand shelter hours
7:05 and put more outreach teams on
7:08 the streets to identify on
7:09 house individuals in need o
7:10 fservices and shelter first
7:14 responders also play critical
7:17 roles, has dispatched the
7:18 calls related to house people
7:20 to provide medical care,
7:21 including treatment for cold
7:23 related injuries and
7:24 hypothermia and offer
7:25 transport to hospitals and
7:29 shelters and has our police
7:30 department has the resources
7:31 and personnel to respond
7:33 quickly, police officers are
7:34 also a critical part of the
7:36 cold blue response during the
7:38 emergencies. Nypd officers
7:41 work alongside staff
7:42 department of former services
7:43 staff. It's increased patrols
7:46 and outreach at known
7:47 locations where on house
7:48 individuals gather when people
7:50 are willing to relocate police
7:53 officers will offer transport
7:54 to the nearest shelter and
7:58 limited officers play a role
8:00 in determining if in
8:02 accordance with applicable
8:03 laws and policy, whether a
8:05 person can or should be
8:07 transported involuntarily
8:08 voluntarily to a hospital
8:12 emergency room.
8:12 Now on the code blue
8:13 response. It is hard to argue
8:15 that the response to free
8:16 temperatures was enough.
8:19 It is difficult to maintain
8:20 that our City response met the
8:22 need city's response to the
8:25 severe weather clearly felt.
8:28 We lost 17 vulnerable New
8:30 yorkers 13 due to hypothermia
8:32 .yorkers who died in freezing
8:34 conditions. Most who are
8:35 homeless and in a state of
8:37 crisis
8:37 . 17 Vulnerable New yorkers.
8:39 These are not just
8:41 statistics. These were lives,
8:42 real people who are in a well
8:44 documented state of crisis as
8:47 a City we must take every
8:48 steps and shore. That's
8:49 something like this. Never
8:51 ever happens again
8:55 . As a City. We must take
8:56 every step and show that
8:56 something like this summer
8:57 happens again until today. I
8:58 look forward to hearing from
8:59 the agencies, including our
9:01 police department, but also
9:02 from the department of human
9:04 services and other
9:05 . Agencies for play, an
9:06 important role in ensuring
9:08 vulnerable homeless
9:10 populations are safe during
9:13 freezing conditions as chair
9:14 of the public safety committee
9:15 department, but also from all
9:19 the other agencies who respond
9:22 . On current processes to mak
9:22 esure we're reaching homeles
9:24 spopulations and providing them
9:26 with safe spaces there,
9:29 increasing temperatures but
9:29 also current rules to ensure
9:30 agencies are working together
9:31 so that we can provide
9:34 assistance efficiently and
9:35 effectively, but also most
9:37 importantly steps that we can
9:38 take to make sure that another
9:40 tragedy.
9:40 Like this. Never ever
9:43 happens again. I thank
9:43 everyone here today for
9:44 participating in disappoint
9:45 hearing, and I look forward t
9:47 oa thoughtful and constructive
9:48 dialogue. Thank you so much
9:51 and I'll pass it on to our co
9:53 chair Council Member of
9:54 Crystal Hudson. You so much to
9:57 speaker mennen and sherif
9:58 elise. Good afternoon. Goo
9:59 dmorning and welcome to today's
10:00 oversight hearing on New York
10:02 city's code blue operations.
10:04 I'm Crystal Hudson welfare
10:05 committee chair and my
10:05 pronouns. Are she her? We are
10:09 additionally joined by council
10:10 members on and Hankerson
10:13 .today, our City mourns the
10:14 tragic loss of life that has
10:14 occurred during the recent
10:16 period of extreme cold that
10:17 has gripped in York City since
10:19 late the prolonged freeze and
10:21 sub freezing temperatures have
10:22 claimed at least 18 lives
10:24 outdoors across the fiv
10:26 eboroughs. These deaths are not
10:28 just statistics they represent
10:30 parents, siblings and
10:31 neighbors whose lives were cut
10:32 short by conditions that
10:35 should never be fatal in a
10:35 City as a resource rich as
10:38 ours while official data
10:39 indicates that not all of the
10:40 individuals who died were
10:42 confirmed to have been
10:45 unsheltered individuals. Many
10:46 had past interactions with our
10:46 homeless shelter system and a
10:47 number of these fatalities
10:49 reflect the acute
10:50 vulnerability that people
10:51 living without stable housing
10:53 face during extreme weather
10:56 . Our City has been under a
10:57 code blue emergency since
10:58 nineteenth under New York
11:00 city's code blue protocol,
11:01 which is activated when
11:03 temperatures fall to 32 deg
11:05 .fahrenheit or below the City
11:07 led operationally by the
11:08 department of homeless
11:09 services or is required t
11:10 oensure that no one
11:12 experiencing homelessness. Who
11:13 seeks shelter is denied entry
11:15 during these emergencies
11:17 expands and relaxes normal
11:20 intake procedures so that
11:21 shelters drop in centers safe
11:23 havens and stabilization beds
11:24 are open 24 7 and available t
11:26 oall in need.
11:27 Anyone can walk into any
11:29 facility for warmth without
11:30 undergoing the usual
11:34 eligibility process and
11:34 outreach teams are deployed
11:35 throughout the five boroughs
11:36 to connect unsheltered
11:37 individuals with these
11:39 lifesaving resources. The
11:39 department of homeless
11:40 services also coordinates a
11:41 citywide st outreach effor
11:44 tthat operates a year round and
11:45 intensifies during code blue.
11:48 Conditions supported
11:49 outreach teams, including non
11:51 profit partners and trained
11:52 staff.
11:53 Canvass neighborhoods
11:54 ,subway stations, parks and
11:55 other outdoor locations
11:56 . To identify and engage
11:58 individuals living on the
11:59 . Streets, their goals are t
12:00 ooffer immediate access t
12:02 oshelter, provide information
12:04 and encouragement and build a
12:05 trust necessary to help people
12:08 transition off the streets and
12:09 into safer environments. These
12:10 teams work in coordination
12:12 with other agencies to
12:14 maximize their reach and
12:15 effectiveness during life
12:17 threatening weather.
12:18 A quarter to according Mayor
12:19 mamdani at least 1100 peopl
12:22 ehave been brought into
12:23 shelters or safe havens since
12:24 the code blue was activated
12:27 .despite these efforts, the
12:28 recent deaths underscore how
12:30 emergency responses alone are
12:31 not sufficient without broader
12:32 strategies that address, the
12:33 deep root causes of
12:35 homelessness
12:36 . Including lack of affordable
12:37 housing gaps in mental health
12:39 support addiction services and
12:40 long term care.
12:42 Outreach and shelter
12:43 placements must be
12:44 complemented by sustained
12:45 investments in housing
12:47 stability and compassionate
12:49 social services so that
12:50 individuals are not put in
12:51 harm's way in the first place
12:53 . We honor the memory of each
12:54 life loss and extend our
12:55 deepest condolences to the
12:57 families and communities
12:59 affected. Let these tragedies
13:00 be a catalyst for action to
13:04 strengthen capacity, improve
13:05 inter agency coordination and
13:07 expand preventive services
13:08 that protect our most
13:09 vulnerable neighbors
13:10 . Not only during emergencies,
13:11 but every day. Excuse me, we
13:14 hope that today's hearing will
13:15 inform an assessment of the
13:17 effectiveness of the city's
13:18 code blue operations thus far
13:20 we look forward to receiving
13:21 testimony from the
13:23 administration advocacy groups
13:24 and other interested members
13:25 of the public to learn more
13:27 about the city's successes
13:29 areas for improvement and
13:30 ideas for better code blue