New York City to suspend evictions for two days due to extreme heat
New York City is suspending eviction enforcement for two days as the city prepares for an intense heat wave.
A memo from the city’s Department of Investigation instructs all city marshals to suspend scheduled evictions Wednesday and Thursday in anticipation of risks to public health and safety posed by extreme heat.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the heat index could reach up to 105 degrees and urged residents to spend time indoors and in air-conditioned spaces whenever possible.
“We’ve activated our Heat Emergency Plan ahead of tomorrow’s heat wave, bringing every agency together to protect New Yorkers,” Mamdani said on Tuesday. “Across the five boroughs, we’re opening hundreds of cooling centers, deploying outreach teams and COOL vans, extending pool hours, and preparing for flash flooding.”
The heatwave has affected the entire East Coast and arrives ahead of celebrations for the country’s semiquincentennial. The National Weather Service has warned that dangerous record-setting heat will expand across two-thirds of the country.
The last time New York City officially hit 100 degrees was on July 18, 2012, with a temperature of 100 degrees and a heat index reaching 110, though the Big Apple did not pause city-wide evictions during that heat wave. The last time New York City paused evictions was in February due to a winter storm. Prior to that, the city also paused evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A heat-related mortality report estimated that approximately 500 New Yorkers die prematurely each summer because of hot weather. On average, seven New Yorkers die directly from heat each year, while 490 die from heat indirectly, worsening underlying conditions.
Over a thousand people have died in Europe this year due to a record-breaking heat wave. Most of the recorded deaths occurred in France and Spain, with France experiencing the hottest day since the country’s records began 80 years ago.