Mamdani admin admits 7 other New Yorkers died indoors from cold, as grim tally reaches 29
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration admitted that an additional seven New Yorkers froze to death indoors — bringing the tally of fatalities from the recent stretch of frigid weather to 29.
The updated death toll was only released after The Post pressed the admin Monday on a list showing 31 possible fatalities that was circulated in City Hall and some agencies during the historic cold snap in mid-January to early February.
A City Hall representative said seven more indoor deaths that occurred between Jan. 23 and Feb. 10 were ruled as being caused by hypothermia, bringing the total number of New Yorkers who died from the cold at home to 14.
A total 19 other people were found dead outside during the weekslong stretch of subzero temperatures, 15 of them killed by hypothermia, the city Office of Chief Medical Examiner has said.
Three of the others suffered fatal overdoses, and the fourth person died of a heart attack under the Manhattan Bridge, the OCME said.
City Hall did not release any additional information. The updated count is believed to be the final tally from the cold stretch.
The Mamdani administration has been criticized for stumbling during the deep-freeze in managing the flow of information to the public about the cold-related deaths.
Officials didn’t release the information uniformly, or the full scope of what was being reported to them, the list seems to suggest.
City Hall refused to share any details other than the total number of dead until Feb. 9 — more than two weeks into the frigid weather.
Officials failed to provide general information on the outdoor deaths, such as names, ages, genders and even locations of where the victims’ bodies were found, until pressed repeatedly by reporters — and still haven’t provided all of the details in the 19 cases.
The admin on Monday also still refused to release any details at all about the 14 people who froze to death inside, again dismissing the need for transparency.
A City Hall rep justified the decision, saying that the admin didn’t need to share any additional information since the people had died in private homes.
City Hall took the lead in disseminating info about the reported cold deaths, rather than the NYPD of other involved agencies, like the Department of Social Services.
And several times, officials referred The Post’s requests for information to the NYPD, only for cops to send reporters back to City Hall.
City Hall chalked up the slow-walking to a “miscommunication” with agencies.
And press secretary Joe Calvello still touted that the admin “proactively” communicated information about the people found dead outside.
“We have been transparent in our communications and about the improvements that we were making to our response to the weather emergency in order to keep New Yorkers informed,” he claimed.
Local lawmakers and other critics have also ripped the Mamdani administration’s handling of the freezing weather, saying the new mayor didn’t do enough to get vulnerable people off the streets.
Mamdani insisted so-called involuntary removals would only be used as a last resort, and repeatedly defended the city’s homeless outreach during the subzero spell.
No cold deaths were reported by City Hall from the monster Feb. 22-23 blizzard that covered the Big Apple in nearly two feet of snow.
An apparently homeless 58-year-old man was found dead in a pile of snow in Central Park on Feb. 26, however, according to the NYPD and police sources.
