10 New Yorkers have been found dead in the cold, Mayor Mamdani says

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday the deaths of 10 people found out in the cold since the beginning of the recent bitter cold spell. 

"We don't know yet if every case will be ruled hypothermia, but we need every New Yorker to be on alert, looking out for their neighbors," Mamdani said. "We are intensifying outreach, we are conducting round-the-clock checks, and have loosened traditional shelter intake procedures to accommodate as many New Yorkers as possible." 

Mamdani said groups are being sent out every few hours to canvas blocks and engage with those who need assistance. 

"When the cold is this deadly, we need to meet the moment and leave no stone unturned," the mayor said. 

"This is a last resort"

The city remains under an enhanced Code Blue, resorting to forcefully removing people experiencing homelessness from the streets to save lives. 

"This is a last resort," Mamdani said. "We are, however, not going to leave someone out in the cold if they are a danger to themselves or to others." 

There are 10 new warming shelters - two in each borough - plus 10 warming buses at key locations throughout New York City. 

The city is also emphasizing hospitals are now a temporary safe haven from the weather. Hospitals are being asked to limit overnight discharges.

"It's standard policy with Code Blue that all hospital waiting rooms are accessible to those experiencing unsheltered homelessness," Department of Social Services Commissioners Molly Wasow Park said. "Overnight discharges and discharges whenever there isn't a dedicated, known place for that person to go should be limited." 

Advocates blast "40 years of mismanagement"

Mamdani reiterated that the city is coping with the coldest weather conditions in eight years. 

"Extreme weather is not a personal failure, but it is a public responsibility. If we have the resources to act, we have the obligation to act. We are mobilizing every resource at our disposal to ensure New Yorkers are brought indoors during this potentially lethal weather event," Mamdani said. 

The Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless released a statement regarding the deaths, saying that additional outreach is helpful, but that after "more than a decade of relentless sweeps, many unhoused New Yorkers have learned to avoid outreach by the New York City Department of Homeless Services entirely."

The groups said outreach is helpful but what's needed is permanent housing. 

"While the City may be taking steps now, decades of systemic failure cannot be reversed with a few days of outreach or warming buses. Forty years of mismanagement of homelessness and the shelter system cannot be undone in a single emergency response," the groups said.

Dozens turn to Chelsea church for a warm place to sleep

Holy Apostles Church in Chelsea, which operates as a soup kitchen year-round, opens its doors as a warming shelter on nights when the temperature drops below freezing.

"Last night, we had 40," warming center host Charles Pearson said Tuesday. "We usually cover around 30 to 35, but last night, it was 40."

Some New Yorkers experiencing homelessness told CBS News New York's Ali Bauman they felt more comfortable at the church than in a city shelter.

Angelo Colon, 18, said he normally sleeps in the subway with his little sister, but Tuesday night, he was sleeping on the floor at the church.

"It's a place where you can rest your head knowing that nothing will happen and people won't bother you," he said.

Colon said he was unwilling to go to a shelter because he doesn't want to leave his little sister alone.

He added, "It's actually pretty fun to spend time with the people you love instead of being homeless and being lonely."

Jeffrey Washington said he too prefers the church to a city shelter when it's too cold to sleep outside.

"Sometimes you may get placed with four to eight guys, and four or six of those guys is random, you know?" he said. "You know it's gonna be a problem."