QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) – This may be the longest period of consecutive sub-freezing days in New York City history, with at least 14 outdoor deaths since the snowstorm last weekend.
On a bone-chillingly cold Saturday night, it appears that at least 10 men and one woman are sleeping outdoors in makeshift tents and cardboard boxes under the scaffolding on 96th St., off 34th Ave., in Corona.
The homeless encampment appears to be right behind a New York City Department of Health clinic on Junction Boulevard.
“No one is safe in subzero weather,” Hiram Monserrate, Democratic district leader, told PIX11 News. “There are at least 10 people homeless living on the property of the city. How does that make sense?” he added.
When one of these seemingly homeless men asked PIX11 News for the nearest shelter, we called 311 to find out for him.
Under code blue protocols, our call was switched to a 911 operator, and an ambulance and police car were dispatched to take the homeless man to a nearby shelter.
But as city workers find out all too often, members of a homeless encampment decided to stay right where they are.
Mayor Mamdani has been grappling with what to do, stopping short of involuntary confinement.
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There have now been 14 outdoor deaths since this current deep freeze began.
One was right in the park next to this encampment.
More than 800 people have been placed in the shelters in the past week, but still many choose to stay outside in the cold.
“I’m a long-time resident of this community,” Rosa Sanchez, president of Restore Roosevelt Avenue, told PIX11 News. “They have been freezing here, and it is inhumane,” he added.
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