‘Stay quenched:’ Mamdani activates Code Red alert ahead of heat wave

He bested the blizzard, but can the mayor beat the heat?

As a dangerous heat wave rolls into the city and state starting on Wednesday, New Yorkers will face temperatures around 100 degrees and feels-like temperatures reaching up to 108 degrees lasting until Saturday. The heat is forecast to peak on Thursday, which could be the first triple-digit day recorded in Central Park since 2012. With additional tourists in town for the FIFA World Cup – although the next game at Metlife Stadium isn’t until Sunday – and Taylor Swift’s Madison Square Garden wedding on Friday and Fourth of July festivities on Saturday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is activating a Code Red alert.

“We know these temperatures are arriving during what should be a week of celebration, gathering and outdoor fun,” Mamdani said during a press conference on Tuesday. “No one is better prepared to handle complicated events and dangerous weather. Together we will continue managing the heat, this month’s celebrations and whatever comes our way.”

Mamdani also announced that new cooling initiatives will be deployed this week, including more than a dozen vans operated by NYC Health + Hospitals which will offer transportation to cooling centers and healthcare facilities, provide cooling resources like water and sunscreen, and perform in-home wellness checks for older adults.

Due to the federal holiday, most New York City libraries will be closed Friday and Saturday, though the mayor said his administration has worked with “a number of libraries who will be open throughout the entirety of this period of heat.”

LinkNYC Kiosks – which the mayor loves – will also show directions to the nearest cooling center within a ten-minute radius, and seven additional pop-up cooling stations for outdoor workers will operate across the city. Health Action Centers and Overdose Prevention Centers will also be activated as cooling centers.

Earlier this year, Mamdani was met with one of the city’s worst winters in the past decade within his first 100 days in office. But even his critics agreed that, for the most part, the mayor aced the snowstorm response with the city’s expanded snow-clearing response.

The winter’s test of the mayor’s disaster response wasn’t perfect, though. The two-week long cold snap that began in January resulted in 29 deaths across the city, and Mamdani drew criticism from homeless and social service groups for continuing Eric Adams-era homeless encampment sweeps. As part of the Code Red, the Department of Homeless Services is planning to activate 600 outreach workers for unsheltered New Yorkers during all heat advisory days. 

There were 21 heat stroke deaths among city residents last year – with 19 of those resulting from a four-day heatwave that began on June 22, which saw temperatures in Central Park reach 98 degrees. On average, 500 New Yorkers die each year due to heat-related illnesses.

Another unprecedented aspect of Mamdani’s approach to the heat is his lack of social media videos – which he also loves. So far, the mayor has only posted once regarding the heat wave, and he’s not even in the video! But, he did at least leave his press conference with a word of advice:

“Many of us grew up watching commercials where they would tell us to stay thirsty,” Mamdani said. “My friends, the recommendation this weekend is to stay quenched.”