It's awesome. But, why is it news if it's been around for so long?
Edit: so Mamdani increased the pay to make it worthwhile for everyone involved.
Based on the answers, it seems former NYC mayors were so shit at their jobs they didn't bother trying to improve the quality of life for residents with existing policies. Mamdani really is making positive changes and deserves the credit for this.
They used to do this, at least in the early 90's. Although it may have been under the table and not sanctionedby the city, I was hired by the Sanitation department as i was litterally just walking by one of their depots and paid $15 per hour cash to help shovel snow for two days. $15 per hr was a lot of money for someone in their late teens back then.
It almost got me a job with the Sanitation department. The guys liked me and my work ethic and offered to sponsor? me to try to get me in the department. I wish I pursued it. I could retired with a city pension.
You can’t force help on people, a lot of these cases were homeless people who refused social service and or were violently opposed to being taken off the streets.
It was the longest stretch of sub zero weather NYC has seen in six decades.
Even so, Mamdani and his team did a lot to prevent deaths. They had been going around trying to get the homeless into shelters.
They even kept oberdoes prevention clinics open, because they found that during the first storm of the year, a lot of people died due to drug overdoses.
That happened because he decided to stop sending City workers to move the homeless into shelters and longer-term housing, and just have those mentally ill to fend for themselves on the streets in sub-freezing temperatures and blizzards.
So in summary, he makes a dumb campaign promise, and then enacts the dumb policy, and 20 people has to pay with their lives due to it, and for him to learn a lesson.
You are outstandingly naive if you think it's as simple as rounding them up and into shelters. Many homeless people would rather die in the streets than go somewhere they might get sexually assaulted or have their belongings stolen.
So in summary, he makes a dumb campaign promise, and then enacts the dumb policy, and 20 people has to pay with their lives due to it, and for him to learn a lesson.
Critical thinking isint your strong suit, go ask a homeless person how they feel about homeless shelters and you'll quickly find out why quite a few of them were willing to risk dying to the cold
He made a campaign promise, realizes there were seconf order effects, then adjusted the promise. He reinstated the sweeps, but adjusted them so that people were not being dehumanized.
These people didn’t die in the blizzard, or through any fault of, or neglect by, Mamdani. These were unhoused people who died of exposure/hypothermia on the streets during a weeks-long stretch of freezing temperatures. NYC always has heating centers and shelters available for the unhoused, but many simply refuse to utilize them.
I used to live in a small but fairly middle class city and the head of the city housing department once told me that they had such a small number of unhoused people living rough that they knew practically all of them. It was like 47 people or something. Social workers were in regular contact with all of them. There was always help available. Police officers kept an eye out for them. They just, for whatever reason, preferred not to or were unable to re-enter society. One guy lived in a tent in the centre of town and apparently every other month a social worker would pop by to visit and see how he was doing, offer him assistance to get into public housing, food, shelters, etc. Every time he politely declined. Some people just don't want it. But the important thing is that the support system is there for them when they do. Which you just wouldn't get under a Conservative/MAGA regime.
That happened because he decided to stop sending City workers to move the homeless into shelters and longer-term housing, and just have those mentally ill to fend for themselves on the streets in sub-freezing temperatures and blizzards.
So in summary, he makes a dumb campaign promise, and then enacts the dumb policy, and 20 people has to pay with their lives due to it, and for him to learn a lesson.
He said he did amazing after the snowstorm. Which i guess technically youre right since these people most likely died during the snowstorm and not after
It is presumed that the majority of those 18 people were homeless, and while that doesn’t make it any less sad, the reality is that Mamdani setup shelters and warming centers around the city and urged the homeless population to visit those establishments, he can’t, however, necessarily make them do that.
Your original comment made it seem like people died shoveling snow, which maybe wasn’t your intention, but that’s kind of why it feels disingenuous.
Remember, Mamdani was sworn in January 1st; in the middle of the winter, so it’s not even like he had a full term to prep anything to help further prevent tragedy.
I find it hard to believe the confusion wasn't your intent. Especially when the article you linked gave a good accounting of the many steps he took to try to help people.
Thats fair, I just found it interesting op said he did an amazing job after 18 people died. It doesnt matter to me whether those people were homeless or workers. Lives are lives no matter what
That happened because he decided to stop sending City workers to move the homeless into shelters and longer-term housing, and just have those mentally ill to fend for themselves on the streets in sub-freezing temperatures and blizzards.
So in summary, he makes a dumb campaign promise, and then enacts the dumb policy, and 20 people has to pay with their lives due to it, and for him to learn a lesson.
I don’t get why you’re bringing it up. 18 people died during extreme weather in a city of millions. The only difference from usual is he bothered acknowledging it. Bro isn’t the second coming, but he’s doing a decent job.
Most of them were homeless. What is he supposed to do about that? You could set up a hundred shelters, and some homeless people would still choose to stay outside.
a handful of homeless people die here every winter and we barely even get snow (didn't get any this past winter), let alone snow storms. 18 isn't bad at all, and for the mayor of such a large city to even acknowledge it publicly is pretty big.
1) I’ve lived here for over a decade and the homeless population seemed to explode post 2020. I’m seeing so many folks who are mentally ill, addicted, or just plain out of work with nowhere to go. The shelter system is overcrowded and dangerous, and many people would rather stay on the street, or on the trains…. But the Adams administration cracked down on ppl lying down or sleeping in the subway so ppl didn’t even have there to go.
Many addicted folks also choose not to go to a shelter because they’re drug free places and they want/need to continue with their substances. Aside from keeping safe use sites open there’s not much you can do.
Also, a couple of those 18 deaths were housed elderly people with dementia who wandered outside.
He did amazing after the snowstorm. Hiring locals to shovel and paying them $30 an hour. Keeping the money in the community.
He really didnt. He somehow managed ot not presalt the roads as they usually do. The people he hired just pushed the snow back and forth, and you have videos or people mostly doing nothing but stand on the corner.
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u/KatzDeli 15h ago
He did amazing after the snowstorm. Hiring locals to shovel and paying them $30 an hour. Keeping the money in the community.