Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s early days in office have quickly become defined by a sweeping policy shift on homeless encampments, a move that is now under intense scrutiny after a deadly Arctic deep freeze claimed the lives of at least ten people found outdoors across New York City. According to sources, Mamdani’s administration ordered police and sanitation workers to stop dismantling homeless encampments just weeks before the severe cold set in, leaving frontline agencies scrambling with limited direction as temperatures plunged.
The directive, issued shortly after the democratic socialist mayor took office, effectively removed the NYPD and the Department of Sanitation from their long-standing roles in clearing encampments.
Responsibility was instead placed on the Department of Homeless Services, an agency insiders say was ill-prepared to shoulder the task alone and was given little to no operational guidance from City Hall. The policy change followed Mamdani’s campaign pledge to end homeless sweeps, a practice he and his allies have long criticized as punitive and ineffective.
Under the new rules, police officers are instructed only to respond to and document the locations of encampments, not to remove property or intervene unless there is an immediate medical emergency. Even when officers identify safety concerns that could endanger lives, they are reportedly required to escalate the issue through supervisory channels rather than act directly.
Sanitation workers, meanwhile, have been told not to touch encampments at all, instead notifying DHS, which has yet to receive clear instructions on how to manage the makeshift living arrangements.
Critics argue the timing of the policy shift could not have been worse. The order came just ahead of a brutal cold snap and a major snowstorm that battered the city, conditions that historically trigger aggressive outreach and enforcement efforts designed to get people indoors. Council member Joann Ariola warned that the lack of clear direction from City Hall is having real-world consequences, saying the administration’s approach prioritizes ideology over immediate safety during below-zero nights.
Business leaders have also voiced alarm. Steven Fulop of the Partnership for NYC said opposition to the mayor’s stance is growing, arguing that allowing people to remain indefinitely in street encampments is neither humane nor sustainable. He emphasized that the policy fails both homeless individuals who need structured services and the communities impacted by unsafe public spaces.
The contrast with prior administrations is stark. Former Mayor Eric Adams conducted roughly 8,000 encampment cleanouts during his single term, while Bill de Blasio oversaw more than 10,000 over two terms, despite facing criticism from progressives.
Mamdani’s decision to halt sweeps marks a dramatic break from that precedent, one that supporters frame as compassionate but detractors label naïve. As winter conditions expose the stakes of the debate, the administration now faces mounting pressure to clarify its strategy before the cost grows even higher.