Monday, Feb.9, marks the fortieth day of Zohran Mamdani’s time period as mayor. New York News is following Mamdani round his first 100 days in workplace as we carefully observe his progress on fulfilling marketing campaign guarantees, appointing key leaders to authorities posts, and managing town’s funds. Right here’s a abstract of what the mayor did yesterday and immediately.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani lower the ribbon Monday on the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Middle in East Flatbush, a $141 million venture greater than a decade within the making.
The roughly 74,000-square-foot facility is the primary new city-run recreation middle in-built 15 years and the primary in central Brooklyn, based on the mayor’s workplace. It features a competition-size pool, gymnasium, indoor strolling observe, lecture rooms, a instructing kitchen, and a media lab.
Metropolis leaders framed the venture as each a long-sought neighborhood funding and a tribute to Shirley Chisholm, the Brooklyn congresswoman who in 1968 turned the primary Black girl elected to Congress and later the primary to hunt a serious occasion’s presidential nomination.
“This center will remain low-cost to all New Yorkers and free to anyone under the age of 24,” Mamdani mentioned. “Making New York more affordable also means government investing in spaces like this, where New Yorkers can learn, grow, and simply enjoy their time together.”
The middle sits inside a 15-minute stroll or transit journey of about 41,000 residents. Mamdani referred to as it a long-overdue funding in central Brooklyn and mentioned it is going to be the primary of six new recreation facilities deliberate throughout town.
The mayor additionally tied the venture to considerations about inhabitants loss amongst Black households. From 2010 to 2019, he mentioned, town noticed a 19% drop in its inhabitants of Black youngsters and youngsters, calling the development an “exodus” that officers should tackle by making New York simpler to afford and stay in.
The middle’s six-lane competitors pool options ramps, chairlifts, and stairs to make sure accessibility for swimmers of all talents.Picture by Lloyd Mitchell 
The total-size gymnasium hosts basketball, pickleball, and volleyball for athletes of all ages.Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
East Flatbush residents have lengthy sought a recreation middle; the closest Parks Division services are in Brownsville and Crown Heights, every about 3.5 miles away.
Plans for a Chisholm-named middle within the neighborhood started in 2012 below then-Councilmember Jumaane Williams, now the general public advocate. The venture acquired official approval in 2017 however was later moved from its unique web site at Tilden Playground after neighborhood objections raised with Williams’ successor, Councilmember Farah Louis.
In 2020, then-Mayor Invoice de Blasio and the Metropolis Council reallocated $141 million from the NYPD capital finances to fund the venture, in partnership with Louis and Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn.
Native officers on Monday described the middle as the results of years of organizing, significantly after the 2013 police capturing of Kimani Grey and a interval of heightened gun violence within the neighborhood. Williams mentioned organizers realized they had been telling younger folks to remain off the streets with out giving them anyplace else to go.
“We were telling them, ‘Don’t be out here at nighttime,’” Williams mentioned. “And they said, ‘Well, where do you want us to go?’ … There was no new centers, no place we could actually say, ‘Hey, why don’t you go here?’”
Council Member Farah Louis referred to as the opening “an answered prayer” and the fruits of years of advocacy.
“For every young person who cried, ‘Don’t shoot, I want to grow up,’ for every senior seeking a place for leisure instead of loneliness, for every resident seeking a place for wellness — this is yours,” she mentioned. “The Shirley Chisholm recreation center stands as a testament to what happens when community members, advocates and public servants work together with purpose.”
The total-size gymnasium hosts basketball, pickleball, and volleyball for athletes of all ages.Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
The Shirley Chisholm Recreation Middle will open absolutely on Tuesday, February 10. Throughout its first week, residents can get pleasure from a free day on the facility, and Parks will host guided excursions, registration occasions, and demonstrations to showcase the brand new facilities.
NYC Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura praised the middle’s impression on the neighborhood, noting its affordability and wide selection of facilities. “Central Brooklyn, cancel your gym subscription and join us at Shirley Chisholm, where we have state-of-the-art amenities at a fraction of the cost. This new center means that over 41,000 New Yorkers now have an affordable space to exercise, learn, and connect with their neighbors, a fitting tribute to Chisholm’s commitment to community investment,” she mentioned, calling the power “a space where all Brooklynites are welcome” and “the very best of city government.”
Code Blue: Chilly snap claims one other life
The town recorded one other fatality over the weekend linked to the continuing chilly snap, Mayor Mamdani confirmed at Monday’s press convention. The person was the 18th New Yorker to die in excessive winter situations since Jan. 19, although the mayor supplied no additional particulars
“Each life lost is a tragedy, and we will continue to hold their families in our thoughts,” Mamdani mentioned.
When requested whether or not any of the victims had just lately interacted with metropolis outreach staff, Mamdani deferred to Erin Kelly, Deputy Chief for the Division of Well being & Human Providers, who clarified: “To our knowledge, none of the deaths were immediately following an interaction. Those interactions had happened. Could be a couple of weeks, could be a couple years ago, but nothing immediately prior.”
Mamdani urged New Yorkers to stay vigilant. “Stay safe, stay indoors, and please, New York, let’s keep looking out for one another. We will get through this,” he mentioned, noting that temperatures should not anticipated to rise above freezing till Tuesday.
Mamdani addresses the media Monday, urging New Yorkers to remain protected amid town’s lethal chilly snap because the outside loss of life toll rises.Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Critics of the Mayor’s strategy to defending town’s homeless inhabitants have been vocal because the implementation of Enhanced Code Blue. On Sunday, Republican Council Member Joann Ariola despatched a letter to Metropolis Corridor demanding rapid motion in all caps. “GET THE HOMELESS PEOPLE OFF THE STREET AND OUT OF THE COLD,” the letter learn.
Former Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul have additionally criticized Mamdani for ending road encampment sweeps.
Metropolis officers pointed to intensive outreach below the administration’s Enhanced Code Blue protocols, which have been in impact since Jan. 19. Mamdani has repeatedly emphasised that not one of the outside deaths have been linked to encampments.
Because the chilly snap started, businesses have made roughly 1,400 placements into shelters and protected havens, involuntarily transported 33 people deemed in danger, and operated almost 65 warming facilities, together with emergency websites in Brooklyn for energy outages. Practically 300 New Yorkers used DHS warming automobiles, whereas greater than 560 visited H+H warming facilities over Friday and Saturday.
In anticipation of the weekend’s freezing temperatures, town added 64 lodge rooms for self-isolation, partnered with organizations together with ACE and CMS, and coordinated with DOE college nurses to develop outreach. “We saw at least 150 additional outreach workers hitting the streets, supplementing the over 400 DHS outreach workers who had already been working around the clock,” Mamdani mentioned.
Advocates notice that Mamdani’s strategy — rejecting sweeps in favor of expanded providers, lodge placements, warming facilities, and outreach — prioritizes security whereas respecting the autonomy of unsheltered New Yorkers.
“Each person knows best what is safest for themself, and has a right to make their own decisions about going into the shelter system,” mentioned Deborah Berkman, director of New York Authorized Help Group’s Shelter and Financial Stability Challenge, in a press release.
Forcibly clearing encampments might be harmful and traumatic, usually destroying important belongings and failing to maneuver folks into long-term housing, whereas Mamdani’s technique focuses on assembly folks the place they’re and preserving them alive throughout excessive chilly, mentioned Berkman.
