NYC outdoor death toll rises to 17 as Arctic blast expected to hit this weekend

Another New Yorker was found dead outside in the cold, bringing the number of people who perished during the recent deep freeze to 17, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Wednesday.

Hizzoner updated the grim tally from a NYCHA building in Far Rockaway, Queens where he announced a $38 million investment to overhaul the housing project’s decrepit heating system.

“Today is the thirteenth day of this relentless cold,” Mamdani said. “As of this morning, 17 New Yorkers have passed away outside during this cold.”

City Hall officials did not immediately release any identifying information about the person, and did not say where or when they died or how.

The other 16 outdoor deaths were recorded between Jan. 24 and Sunday. City Hall officials said it was believed 13 died of hypothermia while the three others were overdoses.

The rising death toll came as the city faces another bitterly cold weekend, with a return of frigid temps, bone-chilling winds and light snow forecast to begin starting Friday evening.

There are nearly two months left in the winter season. In 2023, the latest year where data is available, 29 New Yorkers died from the cold.

Mamdani has faced criticism for saying city workers would only force people indoors “as a last resort” during the cold spell. He has stressed none of the dead were found in homeless encampments — which his administration has refused to clear.

The reversal on encampment sweeps has led to blowback from allies, including Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who joined Mamdani at the presser Wednesday.

Since the “Code Blue” went into effect on Jan. 19, more than 1,100 homeless people have been placed in shelters and 20 have been involuntarily removed from the streets, the mayor said.