Affordable, Supportive Housing At Woodhull Hospital, 2025 Declared Fire Prevention Year, 2 Consecutive Years Of Population Growth, Honor Lives Lost To Covid, Mental Health Week Kickoff

Affordable, Supporting Housing At Woodhull Hospital, 2025 Declared Fire Prevention Year, 2 Consecutive Years Of Population Growth, Honor Lives Lost To Covid, Mental Health Week Kickoff

Editor’s note: Last week’s rundown featured stories about the celebrations of Black History Month, along with the Fatherhood Initiative and the brand new accessible history of enslaved people in New York, presently being compiled by volunteers across the city, who are needed to help compile this important historical database. 

The residence is the latest to be opened as part of NYC Health + Hospitals’ Housing for Health initiative between the health system, HPD, and non-profit Comunilife. Located on the campus of NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, the residence provides stable housing and support services. Eligible patients of NYC Health + Hospitals experiencing homelessness who move into the building’s 56 units of supportive housing will have access to on-site services from Comunilife and health care from Woodhull Hospital. The building also includes 21 affordable units for extremely low-income seniors, 15 affordable units for low-income New Yorkers, and one super’s unit. New Yorkers can apply for the affordable housing units on NYC Housing Connect. 

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MAYOR ADAMS AND FDNY COMMISSIONER TUCKER DECLARE 2025 “FIRE PREVENTION YEAR” IN NEW YORK CITY IN HONOR OF 100^TH ANNIVERSARY OF NATIONAL FIRE PREVENTION WEEK

FDNY to Surge Fire and Life Safety Educational Resources to 100 Most Fire-Prone Blocks in New York City to Keep Residents Safe

FDNY Releases Data-Driven Community Risk Assessments for Each Community Board in NYC 

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) Commissioner Robert S. Tucker today declared 2025 “Fire Prevention Year” in New York City to mark the 100^th anniversary of National Fire Prevention Week. The announcement comes on the heels of the department’s response to several high-profile multiple-alarm fires in the city during the first two months of 2025. 

During Fire Prevention Year, the FDNY will host thousands of public education events across the five boroughs and provide targeted fire prevention and life safety educational resources to 100 blocks identified by the department as having the highest risk of fires. Additionally, Commissioner Tucker today announced the release of Community Risk Assessments for all 59 community boards in the city, which provide a detailed analysis of each neighborhood’s emergency preparedness and vulnerability to fire incidents. 

“When New Yorkers face danger, this administration takes decisive action,” said Mayor Adams. “We have relentlessly worked to get unsafe e-bikes, e-scooters, and lithium-ion batteries off our streets — and worked with communities to educate them on heater safety and the importance of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. The FDNY will continue to host thousands of public education events across the five boroughs, providing targeted fire prevention and life safety resources to 100 blocks with the highest risk of fires. We are urging New Yorkers to protect themselves through education.”  

“For 100 years, National Fire Prevention Week has been a vital opportunity to raise awareness about fire safety and prevention. As we commemorate this milestone, we are proud to dedicate 2025 as ‘Fire Prevention Year’ in New York City,” said FDNY Commissioner Tucker. “The FDNY is committed to empowering our communities with the knowledge and tools to prevent fires and protect lives. Through over a thousand public education events, our dedicated teams will continue to engage with New Yorkers across all five boroughs. By focusing on the 100 most fire-prone blocks and providing tailored Community Risk Assessments, we are strengthening our efforts to keep every neighborhood safer. Together, we can ensure that fire prevention remains a priority every day of the year.”  

President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed Fire Prevention Week a national observance in 1925, making it the longest-running public health observance in the country. Since its inception, the FDNY has organized public education campaigns throughout National Fire Prevention Week, which this year will be held from October 5 to October 11. 

To identify the 100 most fire-prone blocks in New York City, Commissioner Tucker directed the FDNY’s data team to analyze historical data on multiple-alarm fires over a five-year period, as well as types and ages of buildings, recent fire safety education outreach, and population density. The department will provide personalized fire safety education to residents on these blocks, including door-to-door outreach, community events, awareness campaigns in partnership with local elected officials, and participation in community board meetings. Outreach will emphasize:

• The importance of installing and maintaining smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
• Developing fire escape plans specific to fireproof or non-fireproof buildings.
• Taking necessary precautions to stay safe in the event of a fire. 

The Community Risk Assessments released today also build on the expanded effort by FDNY to use data analysis to shape fire prevention strategies. Developed by the FDNY’s Geographic Information Systems Unit, the assessments highlight leading causes of residential fires, types of buildings most affected, and vulnerability indicators specific to each community. Throughout 2025, the FDNY will use these assessments to work collaboratively with residents on customized fire risk reduction strategies. 

FDNY’s ongoing fire and life safety education efforts have already made a significant impact on protecting New Yorkers’ lives and property. In 2024, fire deaths were down 25 percent compared to 2023. More specifically, fires caused by lithium-ion battery explosions killed six people in 2024 compared to 18 deaths in 2023, a 67 percent decrease. The department’s Fire Safety Education Unit conducted 3,160 fire and life safety presentations at community groups, schools, businesses, and faith-based institutions last year, reaching an estimated 508,975 New Yorkers — an increase of 37 percent from 2023. Additionally, the Mobile Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Training Unit trained 104,277 people, a 55 percent increase from 2023, with high school students comprising 28 percent of trainees. These trainings are critically important, as early CPR and defibrillator use have been shown to drastically improve survival rates for sudden cardiac arrest victims.

“I applaud Commissioner Tucker’s dedication to fire prevention and his proactive approach to making sure the residents of New York City and the members of the Fire Department can be safer,” said New York City Councilmember Joann Ariola. “The community risk assessment will be an extremely useful tool for the Department to see where more resources are needed.” 

MAYOR ADAMS CELEBRATES TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF POPULATION GROWTH IN NEW YORK CITY

New Census Estimates Show City Now Stands at Nearly 8.5 Million People, Gained 87,000 New Yorkers Between July 2023 and July 2024 

New Figures Highlight City’s Continued Growth Under Adams Administration

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today celebrated new census data showing that New York City’s population grew in each of the past two years, and now stands at 8,478,000 people. The Vintage 2024 Population Estimates, released this morning, showed New York City grew by 87,000 people between July 2023 and July 2024. All five boroughs gained population, with Manhattan leading the way at 1.7 percent growth. This morning, the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) released a new analysis of the census data. Today’s announcement is another indicator that New York City continues to grow and move in the right direction under the Adams administration, remaining the best place to raise a family.

“The numbers do not lie. Our city’s best days still lie ahead of us,” said Mayor Adams. “Jobs are at their highest levels in city history, crime is down across the five boroughs, and people are coming back to the greatest city on the globe. New York City has emerged from the darkest days of the pandemic and continues to take leaps towards a brighter future. Believe the hype: New York City is back.”

“It’s official: New York City is growing again. Our increasing population is a testament to this administration’s focus on building a strong economy and taking decisive action on housing and affordability challenges,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Andrew Kimball. “We’ve hit a record high number of jobs, we’re the country’s top destination for young talent, and storefront vacancies have dropped for five quarters in a row. The opportunities and energy of New York City are unmatched, and more and more people want to be a part of it.”

“This new data puts a number to what we’re feeling: New York City is back and growing again,” said DCP Director Dan Garodnick. “Our city remains a destination for people from around the world, and our progress is very encouraging.”

The new data also includes an updated estimate for the year between July 2022 and July 2023, when the city grew by 35,000 people. Overall, after a short-term pandemic-related population decline, the long-term pattern of population growth has reemerged. Between July 2023 and July 2024, net international migration reached the highest levels since at least 2000, while net domestic migration returned to levels seen in the 2000s and 2010s.

Today’s news marks a key milestone in the Adams administration’s successful record of making New York City a safer, more affordable city. A major factor in the population growth has been the city’s economic growth, with over 4.8 million jobs today — attracting people from across the country and the world to invest and work in New York City. A recent report found that the city leads the nation in attracting young talent, with nearly 500,000 recent college graduates choosing to live in the five boroughs since 2021. The updated census estimate also comes as the city has seen five straight quarters with fewer empty storefronts. The citywide storefront vacancy rate is down to 11 percent, from 30 percent in 2020, with city investments, supports for small businesses, and public realm improvements driving [increases].

Thanks to the Adams administration’s leadership, New York has experienced continued growth and reached pre-pandemic levels across several categories. Last December, Mayor Adams announced a new end-of-year tourism forecast that shows the city’s continued strong economic growth and reputation as a global tourist destination. In 2024, nearly 65 million visitors came to New York City — the second-highest figure in city history and a 3.5 percent increase from the previous year. The city is on pace to surpass pre-pandemic levels in 2025, marking a full economic recovery. Today’s announcement is another significant milestone highlighting the city’s near-full economic and tourist recovery post-pandemic. 

Earlier this year, Mayor Adams celebrated that New York City has, once again, set another record for an all-time high total number of jobs in the city’s history, with 4,770,981 total jobs, according to new data released by the New York state Department of Labor. This is the eighth time the Adams administration has broken the all-time high jobs record since Mayor Adams entered office. Included in the all-time high jobs number is an all-time high private-sector job record with 4,197,501 jobs.

Finally, Mayor Adams and New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch announced that New York City continued to experience an overall decline in major crime, including on the subways, and broke a 30-year record for the fewest number of shooting incidents in the first two months of a year combined between January and February 2025. 

MAYOR ADAMS, CITY LEADERS HONOR LIVES LOST TO COVID-19; REFLECT ON NEW YORK CITY’S EFFORTS TO TREAT, TEST, VACCINATE, AND HEAL NEW YORKERS DURING THE PANDEMIC 

More Than 46,000 New Yorkers Died of COVID-19

More Than 7.5 Million People in New York City Have Received at Least One Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine — 91 Percent Vaccination Rate

New York City Administered More Than 14.5 Million COVID-19 Tests, Provided Over 150 Million Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests,

City Hall, Municipal Buildings to Be Lit Amber Tonight in Honor of Lives Lost, First Responders, Essential Workers Who Worked Tirelessly for Fellow New Yorkers

WATCH: Mayor Adams Marks COVID-19 Remembrance Day and Honors First Responders and Lives Lost

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today honored city health care workers, first responders, essential workers, and those who lost their lives to COVID-19 on the fifth anniversary of the first confirmed death in the five boroughs from the global pandemic that saw New York City as its epicenter. Mayor Adams also announced today that City Hall and several other municipal buildings will be lit in amber tonight in honor of those who lost their lives and the first responders and essential workers who worked tirelessly to serve their fellow New Yorkers during the pandemic.

Since the pandemic was declared in the City of New York in 2020, there have been more than 3 million cases of COVID-19 in New York City, more than 240,000 hospitalizations, and more than 46,825 people have died from the virus. NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst became the epicenter of the pandemic, and as emergency departments flooded with sick patients across all five boroughs, health care heroes sprang into action, rushing to the frontlines to provide care for their patients and fight back against an unknown virus that, at the time, left the world wondering about its infectivity, diagnosis, and treatment.   

“More than 46,000 New Yorkers lost their lives to COVID-19 in the past five years — first responders, health care workers, teachers, essential workers, and more — but all of them [who] left a hole were someone’s family,” said Mayor Adams. “Today, and every March 14 we will remember them. We will remember how the city came together to mask up, social distance, open up outdoor dining, test and trace, roll out vaccines, pivot to online learning, and work together in countless other ways to keep each other safe from the virus that took one too many of our fellow New Yorkers. Our administration’s mission is to make New York City a safe and affordable city, and we continue to re-commit to ensuring that New Yorkers are healthy, and that we are prepared for any future crises.”

“Today, we honor our fellow New Yorkers lost due to COVID-19 and the contributions of all of our frontline workers who gave so much to help during such a trying time,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “We will forever remember the parents, siblings, grandparents, friends, and other loved ones lost to the virus and we mark their memory today by lighting up City Hall and other buildings amber. It’s a reminder to hug our loved ones even tighter today and to share stories of those we lost. Thank you to all of our frontline workers for what you have done and continue to do for our city and to all those touched by the virus know that your city stands with you.”

“From the moment the first patients with COVID-19 came through the doors of Elmhurst Hospital and every day since, our brave health care heroes have worked on the frontlines 24 hours a day to make sure that all New Yorkers, without exception, have the life-saving care they need,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz. “Five years later, the lasting legacy of the pandemic for me is very clear — a strong public health system that works in lockstep with its sister agencies and that is guided by the engagement and trust of our communities is essential to the collective health of our city, and our best defense against whatever challenges we may face. Today, we are safer and stronger thanks to the extraordinary service of so many New Yorkers and the spirit of unity that defined our response.”

“Five years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic upended life and health in our city and across the entire world,” said New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Acting Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse. “I am thankful to the DOHMH staff who worked tirelessly to protect New Yorkers throughout the emergency phase of the pandemic. The tools we developed are still essential for protecting New Yorkers. Vaccination — our strongest defense against not only COVID-19 but many infectious diseases — remains readily available. DOHMH will always provide New Yorkers with the information they need to stay safe and healthy.”

“Our public schools are the centers of our communities. As the city battled COVID-19, our schools served as essential resource hubs for New Yorkers of all ages. When times became difficult, our school communities stepped up to ensure our students continued learning and to support our neighbors,” said New York City Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos. “From the food service workers who helped distribute meals to the public, to the school custodians who helped hand out critical PPE to families, our city is forever grateful for the immense dedication of our school staff.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic tested our city in ways we could have never imagined, yet the brave women and men of the NYPD stood unwavering in their duty to protect our communities,” said New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “We will never forget those heroes — and every New Yorker — who lost their lives during this unprecedented time. And we will continue to stand side-by-side with every first responder and all those who work tirelessly to keep this city safe, no matter the cost.”

“On the fifth anniversary of COVID-19, I want to thank the men and women of the FDNY for the hard work and dedication they displayed during that dark time,” said Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) Commissioner Robert S. Tucker. “Our firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics responded to a record number of calls with compassion and empathy, putting themselves at risk at a time of such terrible loss for our city. We appreciate their service, then and now.”

“Five years after a state of emergency because of COVID-19 was declared in our city, New York City Emergency Management’s commitment to 24/7 readiness endures,” said New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol. “We carry with us the memory of lives lost, countless families forever changed, and the personal impact this crisis had on each of us as New Yorkers. During the pandemic, together with our city agency partners, we transformed vacant spaces into alternate care sites, delivered millions of meals to our neighbors, and surged medical personnel. We built isolation hotels, translated critical messages into 25 languages, and forged deep partnerships with community leaders, all while innovating by establishing ‘cascading impacts’ planning and remote emergency operations center activations to navigate the overlapping crises. Our city’s density, diverse communities, and the ever-evolving landscape of emergencies mean that our agency must remain dynamically adaptive. As we mark this somber anniversary, we reaffirm our dedication to ensuring that our agency remains the bedrock of New York City’s preparedness and resilience, honoring the memory of those we lost by building a safer future for all.”

“On this fifth anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, we join our city in memory of all those lost and in appreciation for everyone who contributed to the response,” said New York City Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham. “The pandemic tested our agency in ways not experienced since the World Trade Center attacks of 2001, and the dedicated public servants at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner met the challenge of a generation with nimbleness, innovation, and compassion. Our personnel embraced new roles, collaborated with partners across government and industry, and promptly stood up mortuary facilities to accommodate the largest influx of decedents in our history with dignity and care. In addition to helping local hospitals cope with the initial surge in deaths from COVID-19, our office established four disaster portable morgues and a long-term storage facility to care for thousands of decedents until they could be reunited with their families.”

New Yorkers sprang into action during the pandemic to stop the spread, social distance, get tested, and, eventually, get New Yorkers vaccinated. All city agencies worked to create initiatives to keep New Yorkers healthy and protect them from the virus. The city gave out more than 300 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE), using a whole-of-government approach to reach all corners of the city, including New York City Housing Authority residents and people with disabilities.

In an unprecedented move, New York City Public Schools administrators, teachers, and staff closed all schools and moved every classroom to remote learning to ensure that the city’s more than 1 million public school students could continue to learn. The city also opened Regional Enrichment Centers to serve as child care centers for first responders, health care workers, and transit workers while schools were closed to ensure health care and other essential services could continue uninterrupted. Additionally, New York City became the [testing center], with continued monitoring and testing for safety. Schools stayed open through several additional waves of spiking COVID-19 rates thanks to a robust test kit distribution strategy by the city.

New York City restaurants also pivoted to outdoor dining to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, and by doing so saved nearly 100,000 jobs for working-class New Yorkers. Today, thanks to the Adams administration, New York City has broken the total jobs record high for the 10^th time since Mayor Adams took office with 4.86 million jobs. And since the pandemic, the outdoor dining program, now entitled “Dining Out NYC,” has become permanent — giving New Yorkers access to the largest permanent outdoor dining program in the country.

They led the largest municipal testing and contact tracing program in the country. At the peak of its operations, Test & Trace maintained a network of over 250 community-based and mobile testing sites, ensuring testing for COVID-19 was provided in neighborhoods with the least access to testing resources. Test & Trace was able to track more than 3 million cases of COVID-19 and close contacts of positive patients through its innovative program. Its contact tracing effort created millions of opportunities to break chains of transmission, and provided those exposed the resources they needed to safely quarantine or isolate, including by providing 2.2 million free meals and over 600,000 care packages to those in isolation or quarantine. Test & Trace also created a Hotel Isolation program that helped over 33,000 people safely quarantine or recover from COVID-19 without unnecessarily exposing others.

Over the course of the pandemic, NYC Health + Hospitals, including Test & Trace, DOHMH, and hundreds of city and community partners administered more than 14.5 million COVID-19 tests and provided over 150 million free COVID-19 rapid antigen at-home tests.

Once COVID-19 vaccines became available, the city rolled out its efforts to vaccinate every New Yorker. The city’s vaccine campaign prevented an estimated 48,000 deaths, 300,000 hospitalizations, and 1.9 million cases of COVID-19. The Vaccine Command Center spearheaded the city’s fight against COVID-19 by providing real-time troubleshooting and rapid response across public and private providers, including urgent care centers, private pharmacies, hospitals, and community vaccination sites. The Vaccine Command Center established a fleet of mobile and traveling vaccination teams that ensured at least 90 percent of residents in the [city were vaccinated].

DOHMH data shows that more than 7.5 million New Yorkers received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, a 91 percent citywide vaccination rate. Additionally, DOHMH’s Public Health Corps worked to close the vaccination gap and increase vaccination rates among Black and Latino New Yorkers. Their efforts resulted in linking and referring more than 1.1 million residents from priority communities to vaccination sites.

While COVID-19 is no longer considered a pandemic, New York City continues to connect New Yorkers with prevention and treatment for the virus. Updated vaccines are designed to protect against newer COVID-19 variants and to increase people’s protection against the virus. Updated vaccines can be found on the NYC Vaccine Finder. DOHMH also continues to offer free PCR testing at COVID-19 Express Testing sites and NYC Health + Hospitals offers treatment options for people experiencing “Long Covid” with AfterCare resources. DOHMH is also studying the impact of Long Covid among 10,000 New Yorkers.

DOHMH’s strong surveillance system, disease investigators, and premier public health lab allow DOHMH to collect and analyze COVID-19 and more than another 100 diseases from Tuberculosis to Human Immunodeficiency Virus, to food-borne illnesses like norovirus and salmonella in near real-time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, DOHMH established wastewater surveillance that was later used to detect the virus that causes polio following the identification of a case of polio in Rockland County in 2022. DOHMH’s current focus is on detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 and polio. NYC Health + Hospitals also works to continue monitoring for changes in COVID-19 and flu rates with its Biosurveillance Program, which tests wastewater for infectious diseases and has successfully predicted changes in COVID-19 and flu rates 10 to 14 days before those results are seen clinically at a hospital, and has expanded to test for polio and Mpox.

In 2024, NYC Health + Hospitals published a textbook so health care leaders and public health professionals could learn best practices for the next large-scale emergency response. “The Covid-19 Response in New York City: Crisis Management in the Epicenter of the Epicenter” shared what the largest municipal hospital system learned about responding to an unprecedented influx of inpatients, standing up a 24/7 contact tracing operation, distributing millions of vaccine doses, and managing health care worker burnout during a historic crisis. 

Health recovery was just one piece of bringing New York City back to pre-pandemic life. Through Mayor Adams’ “Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent: A Blueprint for New York City’s Economic Recovery,” the Adams administration created a concrete plan that strengthened the city’s tourism and hospitality industries, supported small businesses, and helped bypass pre-pandemic employment numbers — taking them to the highest levels in city history.

To honor the New Yorkers who lost their lives to COVID-19, as well as the hard work of first responders, health care workers, and essential workers who worked to get the city through the pandemic City Hall and the following municipal buildings will be lit amber starting at sundown tonight:

• Brooklyn Borough Hall: 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
• The David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building: 1 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007
• Queens Borough Hall: 120-55 Queens Boulevard, Kew Gardens, NY 11424
• Staten Island Borough Hall: 10 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been the most tumultuous time in history for most New Yorkers, who can vividly recall lines of ambulances and hospitals filled beyond capacity. COVID took the lives of over 46,000 of our fellow New Yorkers and hospitalized over 240,000, and we will never forget the heroic sacrifices of our healthcare workers, first responders, and other essential workers to keep our city running in an unprecedented crisis,” said State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar. “Our city made a valiant effort to contain the ravages of COVID, instituting essential social distancing, distributing 300 million pieces of PPE and 150 million tests, and eventually vaccinating 91 percent of New Yorkers. I myself turned my Office into a relief center where I distributed vital aid to the community. As we commemorate our navigation out of the darkest days of the pandemic, we must prepare for the future. We must continue to develop vaccines effective against breakthrough infections. Together, we will continue our unwavering commitment and make COVID history.”

Banner Image:  Mayor Eric Adams, NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz, and New York City Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos continue “Mental Health Week ” by celebrating the opening of the 16th school-based mental health clinic. P.S. 035 Franz Siegel, Bronx. Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Image Credit – Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

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