Committee on Public Safety meeting
February 10, 2026, 10:00 AM
Jointly with the Committee on General Welfare
The Committee on Public Safety held a joint oversight hearing with the Committee on General Welfare on NYC's Code Blue cold-weather emergency operations, examining steps taken to protect lives during extreme cold.
What was discussed
- Speaker and co-chairs open the Code Blue oversight hearing Speaker Julie Menin gaveled in the joint oversight hearing on New York City's Code Blue cold-weather operations, framing it as an effort to understand what happened so improvements can be made. Co-Chairperson Oswald J. Feliz of the Public Safety Committee and Co-Chairperson Crystal Hudson of the
- Administration testifies on the city's Code Blue response DSS Commissioner Molly Wasow Park, testifying with NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol and NYPD Deputy Commissioner Alexander Crohn, described the city's enhanced Code Blue procedures, outreach, and shelter operations. Iscol noted it was his last full day leading Emergency Management
- Public Advocate's opening statement on the cold-weather deaths Public Advocate Jumaane Williams thanked the Speaker and chairs and noted that the late-January storm was the city's first major snow event in five years, blanketing parts of the city in about 15 inches, as he pressed the importance of the hearing.
- Is it humane and lawful to leave someone who refuses shelter outside in the cold? Speaker Julie Menin pressed on how a person refusing shelter in life-threatening cold could be left outside, and on the use of involuntary removals and Kendra's Law. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said removals require an individualized clinical assessment under the state twofold test — signs of
- What was done with vacant supportive housing and the warming buses? Speaker Julie Menin asked what actions were taken to fill roughly 2,000 vacant city-funded supportive housing units and raised concerns colleagues had about the warming buses. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said connecting people to permanent housing is a priority, that several activated sites were
- Did outreach workers have contact with the New Yorkers who died? Speaker Julie Menin asked how many of the 18 people who died had contact with outreach teams and how deployment was determined. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said about 400 workers do street outreach full-time (around 600 including caseworkers and support staff), that a handful of the deceased were
- What assessment and data recording do outreach workers do in the field? Co-Chairperson Crystal Hudson asked what needs assessments outreach workers perform and how contacts are logged. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said StreetSmart is the department's web-based system of record, that data is entered at the end of a shift rather than in the field, and that contracted
- Warming buses: how long can someone stay, and is transport offered? Co-Chairperson Crystal Hudson asked about warming-bus hours, capacity, and whether people are transported indoors. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said most buses run 24/7 with a cleaning break, individuals may stay through the day, and in almost all cases people are offered transportation to an
- Could someone be discharged from the hospital back onto the street in the cold? Co-Chairperson Crystal Hudson asked how Health + Hospitals is notified of Code Blue and whether a patient could be discharged into the cold. Vice President Dr. Ted Long described the WARM units, ambulettes, and transport back to destinations, and acknowledged that discharge back to the street is
- What is the NYPD's role during a Code Blue emergency? Co-Chairperson Oswald J. Feliz questioned the NYPD's role, response times, and coordination. Deputy Commissioner Alexander Crohn said EMS is the primary responder during Code Blue, that officers engage people they encounter and relay chronic-homelessness cases to DHS per the patrol guide, and that
- Why do the NYPD and DHS report different involuntary-removal counts? Co-Chairperson Oswald J. Feliz pressed on why the NYPD reported 52 removals while DHS reported 32. Deputy Commissioner Alexander Crohn explained the NYPD's 52 are Section 941 removals under mental hygiene law, and Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said DHS's are Section 958 removals requiring a
- How does the NYPD decide someone is a danger to themselves in extreme cold? Co-Chairperson Oswald J. Feliz asked whether sub-zero temperatures alone make a clothed person outdoors a danger to themselves, and who decides. Deputy Commissioner Alexander Crohn said the determinations are context-specific interpretations of state law by the NYPD Legal Bureau, made by officers on
- How much shelter and outreach capacity did the city have, and what went wrong in January? Co-Chairperson Oswald J. Feliz asked for capacity figures and what went wrong during the deadly January stretch. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park cited roughly 4,000 safe haven and stabilization beds, buses and school-based warming centers added during the emergency, and about 400 outreach workers, and
- Will the death toll of 18 rise as investigations continue? Co-Chairperson Oswald J. Feliz and Co-Chairperson Crystal Hudson pressed on whether more deaths might be attributed to the cold. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham said the 18 are non-residential outdoor deaths, that 15 are believed directly hypothermia-related with the others including
- Should outreach teams carry supplies and heat packs? Council Member Sandy Nurse asked whether outreach teams are equipped with supplies to build trust and keep people warm. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said teams travel largely on foot with limited supplies but have been distributing coats and hats throughout Code Blue, and Vice President Dr. Ted
- What happens after someone refuses services, and were people left without heat? Council Member Chris Banks pressed on follow-up after refusals of service, a Gothamist-reported death of a man whose call was classified as disorderly, NYCHA heat and hot-water outages, and subway outreach. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park and Deputy Commissioner Alexander Crohn said they were not
- What does a 'light touch' approach mean, and what happens to people's belongings? Council Member Joann Ariola questioned the 'light touch' approach to unhoused people who refuse to come inside, the handling and vouchering of belongings, and street-homeless counts, and asked about FDNY heat packs. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said DHS can voucher belongings with some limits and
- Was the city prepared, and how did people learn where the warming buses were? Council Member Darlene Mealy sharply questioned whether the city was prepared, how unhoused people would know where relocated warming buses went when locations were posted on 3-1-1 and the website, and why press could not film on the buses. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said the city implemented its
- What were the histories of those who died, and is shelter quality driving refusals? Council Member Lincoln Restler pressed on whether the deceased were street-homeless individuals known to DHS and asked for an individual-by-individual history, and tied street homelessness to shelter conditions. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said none were classified as chronically homeless but many
- A council member recounts an encounter with an incoherent unsheltered man Council Member Phil Wong recounted a January 29 encounter with an incoherent, unsheltered man and asked how such cases are handled. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said she was familiar with the individual, whom several council members had called her about directly.
Agenda
1 item
- T2026-1033 Oversight - Protecting Lives in the Cold: Oversight of NYC's Code Blue Operations. Hearing Held by Committee