NYC expands heat wave protections for 4th of July weekend
As New York City enters a dangerous heat wave, officials are rolling out a series of measures to help New Yorkers stay cool. Temperatures over 100 degrees are expected to hit the five boroughs starting Thursday, prompting Mayor Zohran Mamdani to activate the city’s emergency heat plan. The mayor announced additional measures, including opening more cooling centers, extending pool hours, intensifying outreach, and encouraging New Yorkers to check on their neighbors.
The measures implemented on Monday include deploying 21 Cooling Outreach On-Location (COOL) vans. Operated by NYC Health + Hospitals and staffed by medical providers, the vans offer resources such as electrolytes, sunscreen, meals, and transportation to cooling centers or healthcare facilities. Staff will also perform in-home wellness checks on older adults.
Additional cooling centers have also opened, with real-time cooling center wayfinding available through more than 2,200 LinkNYC kiosks.
Pop-up cooling stations for outdoor workers and large-scale outreach to more than 75,000 businesses are intended to help keep workers safe during the heat. The stations will offer water, misting fans, and cooling towels to street vendors, delivery workers, and day laborers.
Hours will be extended at Olympic- and intermediate-sized outdoor swimming pools until 8:30 p.m., a half hour longer than during previous heat waves and one and a half hours longer than normal operating hours. The city’s roughly 50 outdoor pools are free and open daily at 11 a.m.
Local firehouses will distribute free spray caps to adults 18 and older to turn fire hydrants into sprinklers.
Eight additional city buildings will operate as cooling centers from noon to midnight from July 3 through July 5. The locations are the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building, 22 Reade Street, 100 Gold Senior Center, Brooklyn Borough Hall, NYCEM Headquarters, the Bergen Building, Queens Borough Hall, and Staten Island Borough Hall.
Ten additional public library branches will also serve as cooling centers during the holiday weekend: Brooklyn Public Library’s Central, Brighton Beach, Saratoga, and Sunset Park branches; the New York Public Library’s Grand Concourse, Countee Cullen, and Port Richmond branches; and the Queens Public Library’s Central, Jackson Heights, and Far Rockaway branches.
Find a cooling center near you here. Use NYC Parks’ map here to find sprinklers, outdoor pools, drinking fountains, and tree cover for the city’s shadiest spots.
Officials are also asking businesses to set thermostats to 78 degrees and encouraging all New Yorkers to conserve energy during periods of peak demand.
The city is adding 150 volunteers to its outreach workforce, bringing the total to more than 600 people. Street canvassing and outreach will intensify under a Code Red from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on all heat advisory days to connect unhoused New Yorkers with shelter, cooling centers, and essential resources.
Residents are encouraged to check on their neighbors, especially older adults, people with disabilities, and those with chronic illnesses. New Yorkers should call 911 immediately if they or someone they know exhibits signs of heat illness, such as hot, dry skin, trouble breathing, rapid heartbeat, confusion, disorientation, dizziness, nausea, or vomiting.
Anyone who sees an unhoused individual who may need assistance is also encouraged to call 311.
“I am asking every New Yorker to make a heat plan before the worst of this weather arrives,” Mamdani said. “The best protection against extreme heat is air conditioning. If you don’t have it at home, know now where you’ll go to stay cool.”
“Check in on your neighbors, especially seniors, and if you see someone outside who appears to be in distress, call 311 so we can get help to them,” he added. “This administration is using every tool we have to keep New Yorkers safe, but the strongest city is one where neighbors look out for one another.”
New Yorkers can stay up to date on the latest heat advisories by signing up for Notify NYC, the city’s free emergency communications program, texting NOTIFYNYC to 692-692, or visiting the city’s website for additional health and safety guidance.
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