Dozens of men splitting a single jug of water, sweating walls in cell units, inmates sucking air from cracks under doors—these are just some of the conditions inmates and advocates have reported from Rikers Island over the past few months.
New York is the third worst city—behind Newark, N.J., and New Orleans, La.—in terms of urban heat islands, with temperatures reaching an average of more than 7.6 degrees higher than less developed areas nearby.
Of the hundreds of dedicated cooling centers in the city, only a portion were open around 7 p.m. Wednesday, while temperatures continued to hover in the low 90s.
This is the city’s second heat wave this year, less than two weeks into summer—and it is breaking a more than 50-year record. Temperatures at LaGuardia Airport were at 100 degrees as of 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, surpassing a high of 97 degrees set in 1964, according to the National Weather Service. Central Park reached 98 degrees, the highest since 2013.
Summers are going to get hotter, and heat waves more common, longer and more extreme, exacerbating what is already the deadliest weather-related risk to life and health in the United States. Is New York City ready? A special video report.
Have you experienced a utility outage for more than one day since January 1, 2016?
Heat is the No. 1 weather killer in the United States. And New York City is about to get a big batch of it.
The outages after the ‘bomb cyclone’ touched every borough, according to data retried by the Pratt Center.
When it comes to making repairs, NYCHA follows a somewhat different set of procedures and rules than private landlords. There are differing views on whether this makes sense.
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