Mamdani reverses controversial policy after 19 NYC residents die outdoors

While many in the media praised New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for his response to life-threatening weather conditions this winter, the socialist has changed his mind on one policy with allegedly lethal consequences.

Mamdani had criticized sweeps of homeless encampments intended to keep people from dangerous winter conditions, in favor of allowing them to stay outside.

Critics of Mamdani's homeless policy predicted it would lead to people dying.

"If you are not connecting homeless New Yorkers to the housing that they so desperately need, then you cannot deem anything you're doing to be a success," he said in January.

On Wednesday, Mamdani confirmed he had reversed the policy and would reinstate the sweeps. The Department of Homeless Services will take the lead on conducting them.

The city has intermittently declared a Code Blue situation since January 23, which means weather conditions are so dangerous that officials should take every reasonable effort to protect homeless people from the elements. Mamdani admitted that his socialist plan should not have applied during the Code Blue conditions.

"We knew that that is a policy that we would only deliver on once the prolonged Code Blue came to an end, because, as we know, in a Code Blue, the focus should be on getting homeless New Yorkers inside, not on the question of how we respond to structures," Mamdani said.

At least 19 New York City residents died outdoors during the historic cold snap, though it is unclear whether any of these deaths can be directly linked to the mayor's homeless policies.

That lack of clarity is partly due to the Mamdani administration seizing the means of communication related to the cold deaths from the NYPD.

Critics of Mamdani's homeless policy predicted it would lead to people dying.

"The radical left communists would rather the homeless freeze to death on the streets, live in tents without showers food or medicine than make sure they have PROPER housing and mental health treatment which many of them desperately need," Republican NYC Councilwoman Inna Vernikov said in January.

Others have since linked the deaths to policy failures.

"These deaths are not inevitable," City Council Speaker Julie Menin said. "They are the result of gaps in outreach, shelter capacity, mental health services, and follow-up."

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Despite the deaths, Mamdani faced criticism from the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless for reinstating the sweeps.

"These sweeps failed on multiple fronts: They were inhumane, stripping unhoused New Yorkers of their few belongings and eroding trust in city services, and they were ineffective, doing little more than pushing people out of sight," reads a statement from the organizations.

The groups also accused Mamdani of "another broken promise."

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