Int. No. 790

By Council Member Joseph

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to reporting on warming centers

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

            Section 1. Section 17-199.30 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by local law number 172 for the year 2025 is redesignated section 17-199.31.

§ 2. Chapter 1 of title 17 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 17-199.32 to read as follows:

§ 17-199.32 Reporting on warming centers. a. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

Accessible. The term “accessible” means that a facility complies with applicable federal, state, and local laws relating to accessibility for persons with disabilities, including, but not limited to, the Americans with Disabilities Act, as codified at chapter 126 of title 42 of the United States code.

Age group. The term “age group” means the range of ages of the visitors, as determined by the department.

Code blue alert. The term “code blue alert” means a weather emergency notice that the city issues when the temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

Visitor. The term “visitor” means an individual who visits a warming center.

Vulnerable population. The term “vulnerable population” means a group of persons in the city who are more sensitive to, or at a greater health risk, than the general population from the conditions of a cold blue alert including but not limited to older adults, low-income individuals and families, individuals with disabilities or mobility impairments, individuals with chronic health conditions, young children and infants, and individuals experiencing homelessness.

Warming center. The term “warming center” means a location made available by or in collaboration with the department or another New York city agency or office that offers refuge or shelter from the cold when the city issues a code blue alert. 

b. Annual reporting on warming centers. No later than April 15, 2027, and annually by April 15 thereafter, the commissioner, in collaboration with the commissioner of emergency management, shall submit a report to the mayor and the speaker of the council regarding the city’s warming centers program and shall post such report on the department’s website in a machine-readable format. Such annual report shall assess the scope, accessibility, and equity of warming centers throughout the city and shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:

1. A list of each warming center that the department operated, with each separate row of such list referencing a unique warming center and providing the following information about such center set forth in separate columns:

                     (a) The name of such center;

(b) The zip code and borough in which such center operated;

                     (c) The type of space in which such center was located, including, but not limited to, a community center, a public library, a New York city housing authority building or a senior center;

                     (d) The number of days and the number of hours per day that such center operated;

                     (e) The number of staff in such center;

(f) The total number of visitors to such center, disaggregated by age group and zip code;

(g) Whether such center is accessible; and 

(h) A comparison of the utilization of such center in the current reporting period to the prior reporting period;

2. An assessment of the geographic availability of warming centers, including analysis of whether such centers are reasonably available and accessible for vulnerable populations; and

3. Recommendations to improve the availability, geographic distribution, accessibility, equity, and utilization of warming centers across the city in general, and with respect to vulnerable populations in particular.

§ 3. This local law takes effect immediately.

NLB/AC

LS #7273

Int. No. 0260-2024

03/20/2026 4 PM