Скачать или смотреть Juliet City Council cold weather deaths.mp4

🧣 The City Council held its first hearing Tuesday on the city’s response to the extreme cold, which has been linked to at least 18 deaths in the city in recent weeks.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin drilled down on the response, saying, “We’re obviously deeply concerned by the number of deaths. One death is too many. Eighteen is certainly far, far too many.”

Answering questions from lawmakers, outgoing Social Services Commissioner Molly Park explained the protocol for outreach teams, warming buses and shelters—and what may have gone wrong.

“We had this very dangerous situation happening very quickly on a weekend, and I think it caught people by surprise,” Park said.

Asked by Menin how someone who is refusing to come indoors in freezing weather can’t “be assessed to be a danger to themselves,” Park said state law requires a two-point evaluation.

“If an individual is completely lucid. They are dry. They are wearing enough layers of clothing. And they do not want to come inside. They have the right not to come inside,” Park said.

She said 34 of 1,400 people placed were involuntarily located. She also ensured council members that there will be an assessment and report on the response, even as she prepares to step down as part of the mayoral transition.

The city’s chief medical examiner, Jason Graham, said 15 of the 18 deaths were likely the result of hypothermia. He said the death toll could rise.

“I would anticipate that there will be additional cases, based on ongoing investigations, and we’re not completely out of the cold weather yet,” he told council members.

🎤 Juliet Papa reports

📸 Spencer Platt/Getty Images, Will Alatriste/NYC Council Media Unit

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