“Code Blue is warning that unfortunately came too late." 18 dead amid NYC cold snap, top officials grilled in oversight hearing
Top NYC officials were forced to answer questions on the city's Code Blue response after 18 people were found dead outdoors since Jan. 19
Top New York City officials were pressed on Tuesday morning at an emergency oversight hearing regarding the city's response to the life-threatening weather that's shocked the city.
City Hall reports 18 people have died outside since Jan. 19, when a Code Blue was first activated.
Dr. Jason Graham, the chief medical examiner, confirmed eight people died from hypothermia, while an additional seven are preliminary being linked to hypothermia.
"That is unacceptable, and as a city we need to make sure something like this never, ever happens again, our response to the January temperatures clearly fell short," said Oswald Feliz, Bronx councilmember and chair of the Public Safety Committee.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin began the hearing addressing those who lost their lives, including Frederick Jones, a 67-year-old midtown Manhattan resident who was found by emergency service workers about a mile from his building.
According to Menin, Jones was under an adult protective services guardianship.
In another case, a 52-year-old man was found dead on a park bench in Queens with discharge papers from Elmhurst Hospital.
"These deaths are not inevitable," said Speaker Julie Menin. "Code Blue is a warning that unfortunately came too late."
A day after she handed in her resignation papers, Molly Wasow Park, the commissioner of the Department of Social Services that oversees the Department of Homeless Services was grilled by City Council leaders on the agency's protocols when responding to Code Blue emergencies.
"Our hearts, my heart goes out to the families and loved ones of New Yorkers who died outside who tragically died outside due to the cold temperatures as a result of this horrible cold spell in recent weeks," said Wasow Park in her opening statement.
Wasow Park says DSS has made roughly 1,400 placements from the streets to the shelters and involuntarily removed 33 people from the streets. The agency says determining an involuntarily removal is based on two factors if an individual showing signs of mental health issues, or if they are danger to themselves or others.
"If an individual is completely lucid, they are dry, they are wearing enough layers of clothing and they do not want to come inside, they have the right not to come inside," said Wasow Park.
Alex Crohn, who serves as a deputy commissioner for the NYPD, says officers made 52 involuntary removals since Jan. 19. Crohn says as of mid-Sunday, the NYPD responded to 2,679 Code Blue calls, with roughly 540 people accepting shelter.
Asked about NYPD protocol when responding to a Code Blue, Crohn says officers are trained on how to identify if a person needs to be involuntarily removed, that includes signs of exposed skin, not wearing shoes, extreme swelling of feet, malnutrition or the inability to care for themselves.
The agency says there are about 400 "boots on the ground" outreach workers whose jobs are specifically to be outside on the streets looking for those in need, while an additional 200 people are indoors working as case workers, specialist and housing related staff.
Throughout the Code Blue, outreach workers and DHS staff are working overtime, deployed in areas where there are patterns of unsheltered homelessness.
"We are being very responsive to the trends we were seeing on the ground," said Wasow Park.
Asked if the outreach workers made contact with any of the 18 individuals who lost their lives, the commissioner replied that majority of them not all of them have had some contact with DHS, as recently as a few weeks before the Code Blue. The commissioner did not provide a specific number.
"The circumstances for each individual are different, but there were people who had active shelter placements but didn't arrive at the active shelter placement, there were people who have come through intake, it was a variety of different circumstances," said Wasow Park.
During a standard Code Blue, DHS and provider outreach are checking people on the 'most venerable' list every four hours, under an enhanced Code Blue, which the city has been under since Jan. 19, that timeframe is moved up to every two hours, according to the agency.
Under the enhanced Code Blue, hospitals were ordered to stop discharges for those who were unsheltered, 311 calls for homeless services were being re-routed to 911 to increase response times. DHS has 10 warming buses apart of their normal winter response, but an additional 10 buses were added to the operation after Jan. 19.
Speaker Menin asked if the outgoing commissioner would commit to a corrective action plan to address concerns.
"I can't commit to anything for my successor," said Wasow Park. She also referred to Mayor Mamdani's team when asked what the administration's plans are to a seamless transition as she and New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol are both resigning.
