New Safe Haven Shelter Opens, NYCHA Reliable Heat Pumps, Homeless New Yorkers PSA, Mayor’s Office Of Anti-Semitism ED, Universal ChildCare Closer To Reality, Interfaith Breakfast, Shelter Efforts, Winter’s Coldest Night PSA: Mayor Mamdani

MAYOR MAMDANI ANNOUNCES OPENING OF NEW SAFE HAVEN SHELTER IN LOWER MANHATTAN 

Low-barrier shelter, operated by nonprofit Breaking Ground, will offer 106 beds to homeless New Yorkers 

New shelter adds to single-room shelter facility in Upper Manhattan, warming buses, health centers, and other steps to address extended Code Blue emergency

NEW YORK, NY – TODAY, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Molly Wasow Park announced the opening of a new Safe Haven shelter in Lower Manhattan to accommodate 106 New Yorkers in need of services. The shelter, which will be operated by longtime nonprofit service provider Breaking Ground, will serve exceptionally vulnerable New Yorkers, including older adults. The Mamdani administration accelerated the opening of the facility as a part of its ongoing work to bring homeless New Yorkers indoors to safe and warm locations during this historic cold snap.

“We are deploying every tool at our disposal to keep New Yorkers safe, warm, and indoors. This new facility in Lower Manhattan will help older and our most medically vulnerable New Yorkers get off the street and into stable shelter with the services that they need,” said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani. “City workers across the five boroughs are working overtime to provide services to those in need, clear the streets, pick up trash, and keep our city running. As the cold continues, I urge all New Yorkers to look out for your neighbors, call 311 if you see someone in need, and stay safe and warm indoors.”  

“We applaud Mayor Mamdani’s strong commitment to supporting our most vulnerable New Yorkers and investing in housing solutions and resources that serve their unique needs,” said DSS Commissioner Molly Wasow Park. “With the expedited opening of this site we are leaving no stone unturned in our response to the ongoing weather emergency and ensuring we are making all kinds of transitional housing options available for New Yorkers in need with the goal of meeting them where they are. We placed more than 1,000 New Yorkers in permanent homes from Safe Havens and stabilization bed sites last year, and we know they are an effective tool for addressing unsheltered homelessness. We look forward to working closely with the community to identify ways to collaboratively serve our neighbors in need as we build on the progress strengthening permanent housing outcomes for them.”  

This new facility will help support the need for dedicated resources to address the prevalence of unsheltered homelessness in lower Manhattan. Safe Havens are a type of low-barrier facility with smaller settings and is equipped with on-site services and staff who work closely with clients to build trust, stabilize lives, and encourage further transition off the streets and ultimately into permanent housing. These facilities are often the first step towards getting homeless New Yorkers inside and are specifically targeted to individuals who may be resistant to accepting other services.  

“At a time when the need for safe, dignified housing has never been greater, we’re grateful to our partners at the City for helping make this space possible,” said Brenda Rosen, President and CEO of Breaking Ground. “With more than 35 years of work supporting people experiencing homelessness, we know that low-barrier transitional housing like this can be a critical first step toward stability, health, and hope. We look forward to providing much-needed services and remaining a strong partner to the local community.”  

“We applaud the administration for responding to the needs of New Yorkers experiencing homelessness by increasing the number of low barrier beds,” said Kristin Miller, Executive Director at Homeless Services United (HSU). “This action will save lives and shows good governance by its quick response.”  

“BRC piloted the Safe Haven model back in 2006 as a way to appeal to those who felt the traditional shelter system was too restrictive. By implementing more flexible requirements, we were successfully able to help individuals others considered “service resistant” get off the street and ultimately transition into housing,” said Kelly Quirk, Chief Operating Officer at Bowery Residents’ Committee (BRC). “By fast tracking the opening of this facility, the Mamdani Administration is providing a much-needed and effective resource for New Yorkers experiencing chronic unsheltered homelessness.”    

“BronxWorks knows first-hand that safe havens provide a low barrier, dignified housing option for our most vulnerable neighbors. We applaud the efforts to open this site especially as the brutal cold and code blue status for New York City continues,” said Eileen Torres, CEO, BronxWorks.   

“We strongly support the City’s decision to fast-track the opening of a new low-barrier Safe Haven shelter in Lower Manhattan,” said David Giffen, Executive Director, Coalition for the Homeless. “The historic cold stretch has been made more deadly by the lack of safe, welcoming places for those living on the streets to come inside to find warmth and safety. For years, we have urged the City to increase the number of Safe Haven beds, particularly in Lower Manhattan where the need has been so great. The opening of this Safe Haven will make a positive difference in our community. Every neighborhood in New York City has a role to play in ensuring that unhoused New Yorkers have a safe alternative to the streets and subways.”  

The Mamdani administration also recently announced an emergency expansion of single-room-occupancy style shelter units in Upper Manhattan, and has made 20 overnight mobile warming units such as buses and vans available to provide warmth, medical care, and transport to warming centers, hospitals, or shelters as needed. Since January 19th, DSS outreach workers have made 980 placements of homeless New Yorkers into shelters, and the Mamdani administration has stepped up additional outreach efforts with agency and external partners.  

New Yorkers who see someone in need of assistance should call 311, which will be directed to 911 during overnight hours. During the ongoing Code Blue emergency, outreach teams attempt to make contact with homeless New Yorkers every four hours, and first responders help respond to 311 calls for people in need of assistance on the street. Shelters have relaxed intake policies, and no one will be turned away. 

MAYOR MAMDANI, NYCHA ANNOUNCE $38.4 MILLION INVESTMENT TO BRING CLEAN, RELIABLE HEAT PUMPS TO BEACH 41st STREET HOUSES 

Investment will deliver clean heating and cooling to 712 homes as part of “Clean Heat for All” initiative 

Program will reach more than 10,000 New York City apartments by 2030

NEW YORK, NY – TODAY, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a $38.4 million investment to install deliver clean, reliable heat pumps at NYCHA’s Beach 41st Street Houses in Edgemere, Queens, delivering modern heating and cooling to 712 homes as part of the city’s Clean Heat for All initiative.   

The announcement was made alongside Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg, NYCHA CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt, and Chief Climate Officer Louise Yeung. Beach 41st Street Houses will be among the first NYCHA developments to receive the custom-designed heat pumps, which will replace an aging gas boiler system that has exceeded its useful life.   

Once installed, the heat pumps will provide more consistent and reliable heating, efficient cooling in bedrooms and living rooms, individual temperature controls for residents, and improve hot water reliability. The project advances the city’s goal of expanding Clean Heat for All to more than 10,000 NYCHA apartments by 2030.   

“Today’s $38.4 million investment in heat pumps at the Beach 41st NYCHA Houses is about dignity, safety, and climate justice. It means hundreds of working-class New Yorkers in the Rockaways can heat their homes reliably while we cut emissions at the same time,” said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani. “This is what it looks like when we understand that the fight for a livable planet and livable housing are in fact one and the same.”  

“This investment shows how smart policy can address our housing crisis and climate crisis at the same time. These heat pumps will be cheaper and more efficient, cut emissions, and improve residents’ lives at Beach 41st Street Houses,” said Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning. “The Clean Heat for All program is proof using the city’s investment and purchasing power creatively can drive progress across the city, and that is the creativity that we will bring to bear to address the housing crisis for all New Yorkers.”  

“We are so pleased to be bringing the Clean Heat for All heat pumps to the residents of Beach 41st Street Houses,” said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “These cutting-edge heat pumps will not only provide clean, reliable heat during the winter, but cooling during the summer months as well. We’d like to thank Mayor Mamdani for his support of this program and for his dedication to improving the quality of life for the residents of Beach 41st Houses. We look forward to a continued partnership with his administration as we work to scale up Clean Heat for All and install 30,000 window heat pumps over the next several years.”  

“Communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, especially those in Far Rockaway, have historically been the last to receive critical investments and resources to prepare for a just and equitable climate transition,” said Chief Climate Officer Louise Yeung. “Tenants deserve the peace of mind of reliable heating during frigid cold snaps, and safe cooling during extreme heat. By deploying innovative heat pumps to NYCHA Beach 41st Street Houses, our City is taking critical steps to ensure that New Yorkers feel warm, safe, and comfortable in their homes.”  

“There are few rights more fundamental than the right to safe and stable housing. But the first thing many New Yorkers living in NYCHA housing see when they wake up is their own breath, simply because their home lacks effective heating,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “This $38 million investment will deliver both heat and justice to those who deserve but have long denied it. I look forward to working with Mayor Mamdani in delivering for NYCHA families in the years ahead.”  

“This $38.4 million investment in clean, reliable heat for NYCHA residents at Beach 41st Street is about more than infrastructure — it’s about dignity, health, and justice. For far too long, families in Far Rockaway have endured unreliable heating and unsafe conditions. This project shows that we can fight climate change and improve the quality of life at the same time. I commend Mayor Mamdani for this commitment, and I will continue fighting to make sure public housing residents receive the safe, modern, and sustainable homes they deserve,” said State Senator James Sanders, Jr.   

“I’m grateful to Mayor Mamdani for today’s significant announcement. I grew up in Edgemere, the community we’re standing in today. For generations, Beach 41 Houses and NYCHA at large have been forgotten—a fight that tenant association president Eugenia Gibson has tirelessly led right here at these buildings. Hurricane Sandy highlighted this neglect when families endured weeks without power or heat. This $38.4 million investment is more than funding—it’s a promise that the Rockaways matter to City Hall,” said Assembly Member Khaleel Anderson. “Our families deserve homes with clean air and reliable heat, not as privileges, but as the fundamental human rights they are.”  

“Reliable heat isn’t a luxury: it is a basic necessity that every family deserves,” said New York City Council Member Selvena N. Brooks-Powers. “The Mayor’s $38.4 million investment in heat pumps at the Beach 41st Street NYCHA campus will directly improve daily life for 712 households in Far Rockaway. For too long, Far Rockaway NYCHA residents have had to deal with unreliable heating and aging infrastructure that disrupt daily life and threatens health and stability. This investment will improve quality of life, lower energy costs, and bring reliable heating and cooling to hundreds of households. I thank Mayor Mamdani and our city partners for prioritizing NYCHA residents and making meaningful investments that strengthen our communities and help move us toward a cleaner, more resilient future.”  

The heat pumps being installed at Beach 41st Street Houses are the product of the Clean Heat for All Challenge, launched by NYCHA, the New York Power Authority (NYPA), and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in 2021. Following competitive submissions by a variety of heating and cooling device manufacturers, Midea and Gradient won contracts to develop 30,000 pumps for NYCHA homes. To date, 150 have been installed at Woodside Houses in Queens and NYCHA has purchased 5,000 more. Through the Clean Heat for All initiative, NYCHA is using its bulk purchasing power to procure custom heating and cooling devices, filling a gap from existing heat pumps on the market, and improving the reliability and efficiency of hot water service.  

Clean Heat for All completed its initial demonstration in June 2024, with the heat pump units showing promising results: pilot apartments with heat pumps maintained more consistent and comfortable temperatures during the winter, compared to control apartments with a standard steam system. The units have been able to maintain their set point temperatures amidst the coldest outdoor temperatures of the heating season while lowering the energy used to provide heat. Resident response to the new heat pumps has been overwhelmingly positive, with 89 percent of residents who received heat pumps reporting satisfaction with the new units. Early results, averaged across two heat pump manufacturers, show an 86 percent decrease in energy required for space heating. Results also indicated a 50 percent decrease in heating energy costs, substantial savings despite the higher cost of electricity relative to gas.   

NYCHA, NYPA, and NYSERDA launched the Clean Heat for All Challenge in 2021 engaging HVAC and appliance manufacturers to develop a heat pump model capable of being easily installed through an existing window, requiring little or no electric upgrades, and able to serve the needs of existing multifamily buildings while hastening the transition to fossil-free heating sources. Following the selection of Midea and Gradient’s winning model, NYCHA installed heat pumps in a full building at Woodside Houses in 2025 and will be expanding the program to the remaining buildings in the development starting in the summer of 2026. 1,600 apartments at Bay View Houses closed financing in December 2025 as the first Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) development to incorporate the Clean Heat for All heat pumps closed in December and will electrify heat for 1,600 apartments at Bay View starting in the spring. NYCHA is currently conducting studies to assess suitability of other developments for future installations. 

MAYOR MAMDANI ANNOUNCES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MAYOR’S OFFICE TO COMBAT ANTISEMITISM 

At a time of rising antisemitism, Mamdani appoints Phylisa Wisdom to lead citywide efforts to confront hate and protect Jewish New Yorkers.

NEW YORK – TODAY, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced the appointment of Phylisa Wisdom as executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, advancing the administration’s commitment to confronting antisemitism and all forms of hate across New York City.  

“I am thrilled to welcome Phylisa Wisdom as executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism,” Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani said. “Phylisa is a respected leader and powerful voice in the fight against antisemitism in New York City, Albany and across the country. Day in and day out, across all five boroughs, we will work together to root out antisemitism and build a New York City where Jewish New Yorkers are safe, respected, and free.”

“I am honored and humbled to take on this role in Mayor Mamdani’s administration at a truly pivotal moment for the Jewish community,” said Phylisa Wisdom, incoming Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism. “New York City has long been a beacon of hope for the Jewish community. We will continue to ensure that Jewish safety and belonging remains at the core of this administration’s vision for a more livable city. In a time of rising hatred and fear, I look forward to embracing this solemn responsibility—both to represent the diverse array of Jewish voices to City Hall in this critical moment, and to demonstrate the power of pluralistic democracy in the greatest city in the world.” 

Wisdom most recently served as the executive director of the New York Jewish Agenda, where she led advocacy efforts to advance the values of Jewish New Yorkers in state and local policy, politics, and public discourse. In that role, she successfully advocated for legislation in Albany to combat antisemitism and other forms of hate and testified before the New York City Council in support of increased funding for hate crime prevention. She has also worked in advocacy through the Union for Reform Judaism’s Religious Action Center. 

Her leadership in New York’s civic and political landscape includes service as a staff member, board member, and adviser, as well as volunteer work on local and national political campaigns. She is a former elected member of the Brooklyn Democratic County Committee.  

Wisdom brings extensive experience in education policy and advocacy, including work on educational equity, literacy intervention in public elementary schools, addressing COVID-era learning loss, and advancing educational equity for students in nonpublic schools. 

Wisdom began her career as an educator, working with students with special educational needs, and helped establish educational intervention centers in Melbourne, Australia, and Tokyo, Japan. She later worked in public affairs at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, supporting youth anti-violence initiatives and efforts to improve LGBTQ+ public health outcomes. Wisdom attended California State University and King’s College London, where she earned a master’s degree in public policy. 

“I’m thrilled to hear the news of my friend and @NYJewishAgenda Executive Director [Phylisa Wisdom] being named to head @NYCMayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism. I have confidence she will do an excellent job, just as she has at NYJA, of bringing diverse people together to support the safety of all Jewish New Yorkers. As New Yorkers, we are fortunate Phylisa has agreed to take on this role and I look forward to continue working closely with her in her new capacity,” said Congressman Jerry Nadler.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Phylisa during her tenure at NYJA, and have found her to be consistently smart, open-minded, and collaborative. I admire her ability to build bridges in the Jewish community, and beyond, at a time when this is sorely needed. The work of the Office to Combat Antisemitism is more critical than ever. I look forward to partnering with Phylisa in this new role, and doing everything I can to help her and the office succeed in this vital work,” said New York City Comptroller Mark Levine. 

“What an excellent appointment by Mayor Mamdani. Phylisa Wisdom has committed her life to effectively combining her dual identities as an American, a Jew and a pluralistic progressive. The NYC Jewish community is not only enormous, it is incredibly diverse. Ms. Wisdom will increase the expertise of the Mayor’s team in responding to antisemitism and bringing together our many communities,” said State Senator Liz Krueger. 

“Phylisa Wisdom is the perfect person to lead Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Office to Combat Antisemitism. She loves what an extraordinary & diversely Jewish place New York City is, and she’ll work hard every day to keep it that way. And she’s fantastic at bringing people together, across lines of difference, not only to combat hate, but to build a city of justice and dignity for all. Where Jews, and everyone else, feel safe, are respected, and can thrive in this marvelous cacophony we call home,” said former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. 

“Mayor Mamdani has made a smart choice in appointing Phylisa Wisdom to lead the Office to Combat Antisemitism. At this moment of weekly if not daily incidents of antisemitism city-wide, the new administration needs an experienced, respected hand to guide it toward the robust response required. Phylisa Wisdom is that, with years of relationship and strategic power building,” said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism. 

“It has been my distinct honor to have worked with Phylisa over the years in her role as the co-chair of the New York Jewish Coalition on Criminal Justice Reform as well as many other critical issues facing the Jewish community and the community at large. The Jewish community of New York, as well as the new administration will be well served by her caring, wisdom, and insight,” said Rabbi Bob Kaplan, founding Executive Director of The Center for Shared Society of JCRC-NY. 

“Phylisa loves the Jewish people and is a leader of moral clarity. She will fight antisemitism with courage and compassion,” said Rabbi Rachel Timoner, Senior Rabbi of Congregation Beth Elohim. 

MAYOR MAMDANI LAUNCHES 2-K AND 3-K REQUEST FOR INFORMATION — FIRST STEP TOWARDS UNIVERSAL CHILD CARE 

First time NYC is inviting providers to join 2-K

By expanding 3-K programs and rolling out 2-K seats in initial neighborhoods this fall, with plans to expand to serve all interested families citywide by year four, the Mamdani Administration is ensuring parents can afford to start a family in New York City.  

“The cost of child care is pushing New Yorkers out of the city they call home—forcing parents to give up careers they fought for and to make impossible choices about whether they can afford to grow their families at all. That’s not an accident, it’s a policy failure. And it’s why this administration is moving with urgency to deliver universal child care,” said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani. “Just 36 days in, we are launching a Request for Information to bring new providers into 2-K and 3-K, alongside a survey inviting current providers to expand. Our commitment is simple: every family who needs childcare should be able to get it—and the educators and providers who make it possible must have the support they deserve.”  

“This is another exciting and important moment for early childhood education in New York City,” said Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels. “We’re taking a thoughtful approach to giving our youngest learners a strong foundation, one that begins with listening to our community partners and responding to where families need us most. Through deliberate planning, we’re committed to sustainable growth that expands access for New York’s cutest while supporting the dedicated educators and providers who make early learning possible across all five boroughs.”  

Today, Feb. 5, 2026, the City is opening a request for information (RFI) for new providers interested in offering 2-K and 3-K services. The administration is also releasing surveys to existing contracted early childhood providers who may be interested in expanding current capacity or providing 2-K programs in the fall. The RFI and expansion surveys are being issued by New York City Public Schools in coordination with the Mayor’s Office of Child Care. Submissions are due by Feb. 19, 2026.  

AT ANNUAL INTERFAITH BREAKFAST, MAYOR MAMDANI REAFFIRMS CITY’S SANCTUARY STATUS, LAUNCHES EXPANSIVE “KNOW YOUR RIGHTS” PUSH TO PROTECT IMMIGRANT NEW YORKERS FROM FEDERAL OVERREACH 

“As ICE fosters a culture of suspicion and fear, let this city of strangers set an example for how to make the sorrows of others our own. 

Let us offer a new path — one of defiance through compassion.” 

New Executive Order Upholds Sanctuary Protections, Safeguards  Rights and Privacy of All New Yorkers, and Limits City  Cooperation with Immigration Authorities 

“Know Your Rights” Push Will Distribute Over 30,000 Multilingual Flyers and Booklets to Faith Institutions Across the City

NEW YORK – At the first annual Interfaith Breakfast of his administration, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced sweeping new actions to uphold New York City’s sanctuary city laws and protect immigrant New Yorkers. The breakfast brought together nearly 400 faith and community leaders from across the five boroughs.  

During the event, Mayor Mamdani signed a comprehensive executive order to reaffirm the city’s commitment to being a sanctuary for all New Yorkers. The order protects the privacy and data of immigrants and all residents; bolsters restrictions on federal immigration enforcement on city property; initiates an audit to make sure city agencies are complying with sanctuary laws; and establishes a committee to coordinate crisis response across city government in the event of escalating federal immigration actions or other major events.  

Mayor Mamdani also launched a citywide “Know Your Rights” push, distributing nearly 32,000 flyers and booklets in 10 languages for faith leaders to share with their congregations. The materials provide clear, accessible information about New Yorkers’ rights during interactions with federal immigration authorities, including the right to remain silent, the right to speak to an attorney, and the right to a translator.   

View Mayor Mamdani’s full address HERE.  

“Across this country, day after day, we bear witness to cruelty that staggers the conscience. Masked agents, paid by our own tax dollars, violate the Constitution and visit terror upon our neighbors,” said Mayor Mamdani. “That is why this morning, I am signing an executive order that will strengthen our city’s protection of our fellow New Yorkers from abusive immigration enforcement.  This order is a sweeping reaffirmation of our commitment to our immigrant neighbors. We have also prepared 30,000 guides to New Yorkers’ rights in ten languages spoken by some of the most heavily targeted populations in our city, teaching our neighbors what to do if ICE comes for them. These guides are here today, ready for you to take. If you run out, we will print more. I urge you to share these with your congregants — even those who are citizens, even those whom you think ICE may not target. These materials apply to us all: those who have been here for five generations, those who arrived last year. They apply to us all because the obligation is upon us all. To love thy neighbor, to look out for the stranger.”  

Executive Order 13  

Executive Order 13 takes critical steps to keep not only immigrant New Yorkers but all New Yorkers safe from aggressive, unlawful, and xenophobic federal actions as well as deepen trust between New Yorkers and their city government.  

Executive Order 13 reaffirms that information collected by city agencies for city purposes must remain protected and cannot be shared with federal immigration authorities, except as required by law. Under the order, each agency has 14 days to appoint a privacy officer, conduct training, and certify compliance with sanctuary protections limiting information sharing.  

Executive Order 13 also makes clear that city property — including parking garages, parking lots, schools, shelters, hospitals, and other public spaces — is for city purposes only. Federal authorities may not enter city property without a judicial warrant. The order also directs core agencies to develop and distribute training for city employees on how to interact with federal immigration authorities.  

Moreover, Executive Order 13 requires agencies — including the NYPD, New York City Department of Correction (DOC), New York City Department of Probation (DOP), Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), and Department of Social Services (DSS) — to conduct comprehensive audits of all internal policies governing interactions with federal immigration authorities, update protocols and guidance as needed, and provide public transparency into any new policies that are created as a result.  

Finally, Executive Order 13 establishes an Interagency Response Committee to coordinate crisis policy across city agencies and ensure a whole-of-government response.  

“Know Your Rights” Push  

As part of the new “Know Your Rights” push, the city is distributing nearly 32,000 flyers and booklets to faith institutions across New York City. The materials are available in English, Spanish, Mandarin, French, Bangla, Russian, Arabic, Kreyole, Urdu, and Yiddish – languages spoken by those most targeted by federal immigration crackdowns.   

The materials outline key rights and options during encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including the right to remain silent, the right to ask for a judicial warrant, the right to speak with an attorney and the right to request an interpreter. They also explain New York City’s sanctuary laws and provide information about the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) Legal Support Hotline.   

The hotline, available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at 1-800-354-0365, offers free information and referrals to immigration legal assistance. During his remarks, Mayor Mamdani called on faith leaders to help ensure this information reaches every corner of the city by distributing the flyers to their congregations.  

Below are Mayor Mamdani’s remarks as prepared for delivery:  

Good morning. What a privilege it is to be here with you all. I join everyone present in sending our best wishes to Rabbi Schneier, and our hopes for a quick recovery.   

And I know that many of us are shocked by the news that we’ve just heard from Pakistan, where dozens of people were killed in a horrific attack on a Shia Mosque. Innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilaihi raajioon.   

I look around this room, and I see the faces of friends I have marched with through searing heat and bracing cold. People I have mourned alongside, celebrated alongside, organized alongside. And I see so many others I have only just met, but whom I am eager to work alongside to improve New York.   

And I see those whom the people of this city turn to for guidance and grace. This city may have only one Mayor, but it has countless leaders. When our neighbors seek to make sense of a world where sense is not there to be found, they often turn first not to those they elected, but to you.    

Thank you for welcoming me today — and for all that you do, in ways seen and unseen, for those you serve.   

I was raised in New York City as a Muslim kid with a Hindu mother. I celebrated Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha with my family, lit diyas in Riverside Park for Diwali, and like any New Yorker, encountered faiths different from my own. I still remember coming home from a friend’s Bar Mitzvah one night and demanding an explanation from my father. “Baba,” I asked, “Why don’t Muslim kids have Bar Mitzvahs too?”     

And over the past fifteen months, as I ran to become Mayor of our incredible city, that encounter only deepened as I came face-to-face with the living tapestry of faith that is New York.   

Faith, we’re told, is the belief in things unseen. And while it certainly took faith to imagine a thing truly unseen—a path to victory—it was nothing compared to the faith I saw New Yorkers summon just to make it through the day. Faith that the bus would arrive. Faith that somehow, some way, the rent would get paid. Faith that a leader would place the concerns of the many before the interests of the few.   

I saw that faith everywhere. On subways and street corners, at forums and front doors. And increasingly, as the winter snow melted into the renewal of spring and then the heat of summer, I found it where many New Yorkers return, week after week, in search of meaning.   

You welcomed a stranger into your sanctuaries. And whether we were together at Shul, at church services on Saturday or Sunday morning, at a Gurdwara or a mosque or a mandir or a temple, New Yorkers told me of the worries they hold close, the dreams they refuse to let go.   

What a gift they gave me. Not just understanding New York better — but understanding how close we truly are.   

Because for all our different faiths, we share a common belief: that our city can be restored, and it must. That the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in the history of the world has enough for everyone to live a life of dignity. That we need not worship the same God to share the same values, or to fight for the same future.    

If anything unifies every religion across our city, it is an understanding of faith not solely as a tool for reflection, but as a call to action.    

Standing before you today, I think of Deuteronomy 10:17-18, which describes the lord as one who: “shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the orphan and the widow, and loves the stranger residing among you, giving them food and clothing.”    

Over the past fifteen months, New Yorkers of all faiths built a movement inspired by that cause of the orphan, the widow, and the stranger.    

Seniors spent hours making phone calls to strangers because they believed every kid deserves child care. If that is not defending the cause of the orphan, what is?   

Neighbors climbed six-floor walkups to knock doors because they believed a single mother in a rent-stabilized apartment should be able to sleep easily on the last night of the month, knowing that her rent would not climb the next day. If that is not defending the cause of the widow, what is?   

And today, my friends, I want to reflect on the third charge: loving the stranger.    

Across this country, day after day, we bear witness to cruelty that staggers the conscience. Masked agents, paid by our own tax dollars, violate the Constitution and visit terror upon our neighbors. They arrive as if atop a pale horse, and they leave a path of wreckage in their wake. People ripped from their cars. Guns drawn against the unarmed. Families torn apart. Lives shattered—quietly, swiftly, brutally.     

If these are not attacks upon the stranger among us, what is?   

This cruelty is no faraway concept. ICE operates here in New York. In our courthouses. Our workplaces. They skulk at 26 Federal Plaza—the same building where I waited in fear as my father had his citizenship interview.   

If these are not attacks upon the stranger among us, what is?   

ICE is more than a rogue agency — it is a manifestation of the abuse of power. And it is also new. It was founded only in 2002. Four Mayors ago, it did not exist. Its wrongs need not be treated as inevitable or inherited. In fact, there is no reforming something so rotten and base.    

I think of a story that Reverend Galbreath — the senior pastor at Clarendon Road Church — shared recently. Two Haitian immigrants in his congregation, a father and son, had traveled to 26 Federal Plaza for fingerprinting. The man’s wife, the boy’s mother, had gone the week before without incident. They thought little of the trip. It was routine. In New York, surely one would be safe at an appointment like this.    

And then, without explanation or warning, they were whisked away. ICE took them first to the Brooklyn Detention Center. The next day, they were flown to Louisiana. They felt hopeless and helpless, Reverend Galbreath said. Hopeless and helpless.   

If these are not attacks upon the stranger among us, what is?   

As the federal government attacks our neighbors — those who worship in the next pew over — they command us not to believe what we see. They compel us, as George Orwell wrote nearly eighty years ago, “to reject the evidence of our eyes and ears.” And they would succeed, were it not for the many among us who have not only read the scripture, but who live the scripture—those who refuse to abandon the stranger.   

I speak of Renee Good, whose final words to the man who murdered her moments later were: “I’m not mad at you.”   

I speak of Alex Pretti, who died as he lived, caring for the stranger. Here was a man who held the hand of the afraid and the afflicted in their final moments. Here was a man who dedicated his life to healing those he had never met. ICE shot him ten times because he did something they could never fathom doing themselves: he extended his arm towards a stranger—not to push her down, but to help her up.   

I speak of the tens of thousands across our city and nation who took to snowbound streets in the dead of winter, refusing to allow those with the most power to impose their will upon those with the least.   

If that is not love for the stranger among us, what is?   

In a moment such as this, I look to the Bhagavad Gita, which teaches us that the highest calling is to become someone “who sees the true equality of all living beings and responds to the joys and sorrows of others as if they were their own.”   

Each of us has been a stranger at one point in our lives. Each of us has known the feeling of arriving somewhere new alone, of depending on the kindness of someone else. As ICE fosters a culture of suspicion and fear, let this city of strangers set an example for how to make the sorrows of others our own. Let us offer a new path — one of defiance through compassion.    

In so doing, we can offer something more expansive and durable than a mere rejection of atrocity. We can rely on our faith to offer an embrace of one another. After all, few forces hold as much power to extend humanity to all. As Dr. King once said: “The church is the one place where a doctor ought to forget that he’s a doctor. The church is the one place where the lawyer ought to forget that he’s a lawyer. When the church is true to its nature, it says, “Whosoever will, let him come.”    

That doctrine—whosoever will, let him come — is not limited to Christianity. Each of our faiths asks the same of us.   

I think of Exodus 23:9, the words of the Torah: “Thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Few have stood so steadfast alongside the persecuted as Jewish New Yorkers. I think of Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, who gave their lives alongside James Chaney so that all could exercise the right to the franchise. I think of Rabbi Heschel that marched from Selma alongside Dr. King. And I think of Yip Harburg, born on the Lower East Side, who wrote ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow,’ and uplifted Americans waiting on breadlines during the Great Depression.    

I think of the freedom from suffering that Buddhism teaches us is only possible if we remove the three poisons of desire, hatred, and ignorance from our daily lives. We need not accept suffering as unchangeable. We need not treat hatred as the natural state. We have the power to set ourselves free.   

And I consider my own faith, Islam, a religion built upon a narrative of migration. The story of the Hijra reminds us that Prophet Muhammad (SWT) was a stranger too, who fled Mecca and was welcomed in Medina. Sura An-Nahl 16:42 tells us: “As for those who emigrated in the cause of Allah after being persecuted, we will surely bless them with a good home in this world.”    

Or, as the Prophet Muhammad (SWT) said: “Islam began as something strange and will go back to being strange, so glad tidings to the strangers.”   

If faith offers us the moral compass to stand alongside the stranger, government can provide the resources. Let us create a new expectation of City Hall, where power is wielded to love, to embrace, to protect. We will stand with the stranger today, tomorrow, and all the days that are still to come.   

That is why this morning, I am signing an executive order that will uphold our city’s protection not just of our fellow immigrant New Yorkers — but of all New Yorkers — from abusive immigration enforcement.  

This order is a sweeping reaffirmation of our commitment to our immigrant neighbors and to public safety as a whole. We will make clear that ICE will not be able to enter New York City property without a judicial warrant. That means our schools, our shelters, our hospitals, our parking lots.   

We will protect New Yorkers’ private data from being unlawfully accessed by the federal government and stand firmly against any effort to intrude on our privacy. No New Yorker should be afraid to apply for city services like child care because they are an immigrant.   

This order will mandate that essential city agencies are complying with city laws and conduct thorough audits of all policies guiding agency interactions with immigration authorities.   

And it will establish an Interagency Response Committee, so that in the event of a major crisis, we are ready and equipped to do the job of protecting New Yorkers. We will create a centralized mechanism for coordinating policy across agencies, so that government speaks with one voice in times of need.    

City Hall will not look away.    

But we need our faith leaders with us. Your moral clarity, your integrity — they are the pillars upon which countless movements for justice have been built. Many of you have long practiced the tradition of supporting the forgotten and the downtrodden. When our immigrant neighbors are in trouble, they often turn first to their faith networks — for counsel, for legal aid, for someone to accompany them to court.   

Today, I call upon you to help us give language to courage. Help us remind New Yorkers that they are not alone.   

We have prepared 30,000 guides to New Yorkers’ rights, in ten languages spoken by some of the most heavily targeted populations in our city, teaching our neighbors what to do if ICE comes for them. These guides are here today, ready for you to take. If you run out, we will print more.    

I urge you to share these with your congregants — even those who are citizens, even those whom you think ICE may not target. These materials apply to us all: those who have been here for five generations, those who arrived last year. They apply to us all because the obligation is upon us all. To love thy neighbor, to look out for the stranger.    

If we are truly to champion the cause of the stranger, let these materials serve as instructions for how to stand in solidarity. If anything can turn back the rising tide of hatred, it is a chorus of those who worship differently and live differently, singing the same undaunted song.   

For we are all New Yorkers. And yet that has not always been accepted.   

My friends — for as long as people have called New York home, a question has been contested: who is a New Yorker? At each juncture, many have sought to narrow the answer. The stranger has been ostracized on job postings, on placards denying entry to restaurants and shops, in neighborhoods where only some New Yorkers were allowed to live. Every conceivable crack has been exploited into a chasm of division.    

On every occasion where the forces of darkness have raised the question, “Who is a New Yorker?” The people of this city have offered our own answer. All of us.   

And yet we know that that answer is not permanent, nor is it predetermined. Each generation must assert what we know to be true, because New York serves as living proof—we are stronger when we welcome the stranger.   

This will not be an easy contest. Those on the other side, the ICE agents of the world, hold power and weaponry and a sense of impunity. And yet, we hold one advantage over them, one advantage that no matter how hard they try, they cannot overcome, as they mask their faces to attack and murder: we are not ashamed of our answer.   

So let us answer the question — who is a New Yorker? — once more, with conviction, and without shame. It is all of us.   

So together, New York, let us advance the cause of the orphan.   

Together, New York, let us advance the cause of the widow.   

Together, New York, let us love the stranger among us, because we are them, and they are us.   

Thank you.   

MAYOR MAMDANI ANNOUNCES NEW SHELTER AND OUTREACH EFFORTS TO KEEP NEW YORKERS SAFE AS TEMPERATURES PLUMMET 

City adding additional shelter and warming center capacity; bolstering outreach efforts; partnering with providers and non-profits to enhance our comprehensive response

NEW YORK – TODAY, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced new efforts that the city will take ahead of the two coldest days of this winter. As part of a wide range of additional actions the city is taking, the Mamdani Administration is activating new direct street outreach workers, mobilizing additional mobile warming units with clinicians and resources, and recruiting health care professionals, non-profits, and providers to open up additional warming facilities — all part of the effort to keep every New Yorker safe this weekend.  

Mayor Mamdani also announced a new expansion in hotel shelter units through the middle of next week, targeted towards individuals who have been resistant to other forms of more traditional shelter. In addition, earlier this week, the Mayor announced the opening of 50 safe haven beds in Upper Manhattan and the expedited opening of a safe haven, 106-bed shelter in Lower Manhattan. These shelter options provide New Yorkers a respite from the cold — and are a first step towards long-term stability. These new efforts build on the over 1,250 DHS placements into shelter, including 27 involuntary DHS transports, to keep New Yorkers safe and out of the cold. On the night of February 5th into February 6th, DHS saw a doubling of shelter placements from the previous night – indicating that our repeated efforts and additional shelter options are bringing more New Yorkers out of the cold and indoors.   

“With this cold continuing to endure, so too will our efforts. While City government is doing everything in our power to offer warm spaces, shelter and protection, I am echoing my call to our fellow New Yorkers,” said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani. “We all must do our part to keep one another safe over the days to come. If you see someone in need, please call 311 immediately so our outreach workers and first responders at FDNY and NYPD can provide assistance. And to those who may consider themselves more comfortable on the streets, I want to speak directly to you to implore you — come inside. These temperatures are too low and too dangerous to survive. Please wait out the cold in a safe place with a warm bed.”

Mayor Mamdani announced that the city will take the following new steps to ensure that homeless New Yorkers have as many options to come out of the cold and indoors this weekend. Working with city agencies, local nonprofits, and through new public-private partnerships, the city is:

• Adding ~60 new hotel shelter rooms through the middle of next week. This shelter type is specifically designed for individuals resistant to staying in more congregate settings.  

• Operating a total of 62 warming centers and vehicles over the weekend, including the addition of the following sites:  

• Reopening 10 NYC Public Schools as warming centers this weekend, building on existing capacity and access across the city.  

• Partnering with Northwell for 2 warming facilities.  

• Partnering with CUNY for 2 warming centers.  

• Keeping two Overdose Prevention Centers open 24 hours over the weekend to serve their clients.  

• Increasing the number of mobile warming units to 27 on Friday and 33 by Saturday night.  

• Bolstering our direct street outreach efforts by taking these new actions:  

• Enlisting the assistance of over 50 school nurses who have been trained on direct street outreach and will assist DHS outreach workers throughout the weekend.  

• Mobilizing the Crisis Management System (CMS), a network of neighborhood-based violence interrupters, to help do direct street outreach.  

• Partnering with Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless (ACE), an organization that works with New Yorkers with histories of homelessness, incarceration, and addiction, to deploy staff to enhance our direct street outreach efforts.  

• Recruiting Business Improvement Districts citywide to ask for their help in doing direct street outreach, and sharing messaging with them about how to help get folks connected to shelter and resources.   

• Piloting an innovative “peer” outreach model where formerly homeless New Yorkers are paired with outreach workers to try and bring homeless New Yorkers indoors.  

• Building on our direct communication efforts with New Yorkers by:  

• Implementing, alongside LinkNYC, a feature on kiosks citywide where people can look up the nearest warming center.  

Since the start of these life-threatening weather conditions earlier this month, the Mamdani Administration has taken aggressive action to keep New Yorkers safe. The Mayor put out four PSAs on the cold weather conditions, including one on LinkNYC terminals across the city, which can be used to contact emergency services.   

Mayor Mamdani continues to emphasize that no New Yorker will be turned away. The City remains in Code Blue protocols with expanded outreach canvassing and relaxed intake procedures. Being outdoors for even a brief amount of time this weekend will be dangerous and life-threatening. New Yorkers are encouraged to cover their skin, including their mouths, ears, and face.  

As Mayor Mamdani has repeatedly said: if you are still outdoors, please come inside. We want to help you. We want to keep you safe.

MAYOR MAMDANI ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL ACTIONS TO KEEP NEW YORKERS SAFE AHEAD OF WINTER’S COLDEST NIGHT 

Mamdani Administration taking additional emergency measures to accelerate opening of new safe haven beds and stand-up new warming centers as quickly as possible 

*** WATCH HERE ***