NYPD officers were under orders this weekend to relax their enforcement of the subway's code of conduct, and not to eject anyone from the system into the bitter, sub-zero windchills.
"We put a complete stop to all ejections, even people who could potentially be causing problems in the subway system," said Alex Crohn, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Strategic Initiatives.
It was one of several revelations in the City Council's oversight into the Mamdani administration's handling of the extreme cold that gripped the city for more than two weeks. Eighteen people died on the city's streets, and at least 15 of them are believed to have died from hypothermia.
"How can a person refusing to come indoors in freezing weather where they are obviously at great risk of potentially dying, not be assessed to be a danger to themselves?" said City Council Speaker Julie Menin.
The city's Department of Social Services commissioner testified that the criteria are clear. Fifty-two people were taken off the streets against their will.
"Are they exhibiting signs of mental illness and are they a danger to themselves or others? Right. So, 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," said Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park.
Administration officials told the council that temperatures fell so far, so fast, that New Yorkers underestimated the potential risks.
"We had this very dangerous situation happening very quickly on a weekend and I think it caught people by surprise," Park said.
David Giffen of the Coalition for the Homeless has praised the administration, but says there are lessons to be learned.
"We saw one individual who was discharged from a city hospital out to the streets. And that person a few hours later was found dead," Giffen said. "That never should have happened. Hospitals should not be releasing people or discharging them if they're inpatients, out to the streets."
Administration officials testified that there are 600 outreach workers and staff, but despite that, 10 to 20 people die every year from extreme weather in New York.
Council members suggested that more staffing might make a difference.
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