Monday, Jan. 26, marked the 26th day of Zohran Mamdani’s term as mayor. amNewYork is following Mamdani around his first 100 days in office as we closely track his progress on fulfilling campaign promises, appointing key leaders to government posts, and managing the city’s finances. Here’s a summary of what the mayor did today.
All New York City public schools will reopen for in-person learning on Tuesday, following a one-day pivot to remote instruction as crews worked to clear snow and ice across the city, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Monday afternoon.
“Thanks to the round-the-clock work of our schools facilities teams, we are ready to welcome students and staff back to classrooms tomorrow. I am deeply grateful to our school leaders, educators and families for making today’s remote learning day a success and for preparing our students to return,” the mayor said in an afternoon statement after cautioning earlier that morning that refreezing temperatures overnight were the biggest variable on students getting back to class.
Monday was designated a virtual learning day, with some 375,000 students and parents logging into city education platforms, according to officials. The move was intended to reduce hazardous travel while sanitation crews continued clearing streets and sidewalks.
High school students and some middle schoolers were already off due to a previously scheduled professional development day.
City officials said technology systems had been tested in advance and that schools and families had the tools needed to learn remotely, but Monday morning was not without problems.
As reported by amNewYork, some parents said logging into remote classes initially proved frustrating, with Google Classroom and other links failing to load smoothly, though most families eventually connected.
Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels both logged into virtual classrooms Monday morning, where the mayor reiterated his offer to students: they could throw a snowball at him if they spotted him in person — in exchange for remote learning days replacing traditional snow days.
Students have yet to take him up on it, he said.
Services: Mamdani says ‘every street was plowed’
In outlining the city’s storm response, Mamdani emphasized the scale of the sanitation operation. More than 5,000 sanitation workers traversed roughly 6,000 miles of roadway multiple times using about 2,500 pieces of equipment, he said, dispersing tens of millions of pounds of salt and brine.
“Every street in the city was plowed,” the mayor said, at least once, adding that anti-icing solutions were applied to East River bridges and major crossings.
To prepare for the planned reopening of schools on Tuesday, Mamdani said hundreds of Department of Education employees were deployed to clear snow around school buildings, supplementing Department of Sanitation efforts.
A hazardous travel advisory remained in effect Monday, with officials urging New Yorkers to stay off the roads as plowing continued and narrowed lanes and refreezing ice posed ongoing risks.
Despite the city’s assurances, reporters raised concerns about areas that appeared to have been missed by plows, particularly bus stops, crosswalks, and some highway segments.
Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson said clearing bus stops is the responsibility of the Department of Transportation, not adjacent property owners, and that additional DOT crews and contractors had been deployed.
She did not provide figures on how many bus stops had been cleared by Monday morning, urging residents instead to report problem locations to 311.
Property owners were required to clear sidewalks by 11 a.m. Monday, though officials acknowledged that deep cold and refreezing conditions could make compliance difficult.
Seven deaths amid ‘Code Blue’ under review
The extreme cold over the weekend may have played a role in the deaths of seven people in the city, though officials stressed that the cases remain under investigation.
“It is still too early to attribute the cause of death,” Mamdani said, declining to confirm whether the deaths were directly related to the storm or the cold. He said the city is awaiting autopsy results before providing further details.
The mayor confirmed that some individuals had prior interactions with the city’s shelter system but cautioned against drawing conclusions about whether the services had failed them.
Calling the cold the most severe New York City has experienced in roughly eight years, Mamdani described the conditions as “debilitating” and said the danger had not passed simply because snowfall had ended.
A Code Blue cold weather alert remained in effect from 4 p.m. Monday through 8 a.m. Tuesday. Outreach teams made more than 170 placements over the weekend into shelters, safe havens, stabilization beds, drop-in centers, and hospitals, with the vast majority going into shelters.
Molly Wasow Park, commissioner of the city’s Department of Social Services, said three people were involuntarily transported to hospitals, describing such actions as a “last resort” used only when individuals face immediate medical risk.
“If an individual is in danger to themselves or others, we will involuntarily remove individuals to the hospital,” Park said, stressing that the decisions are made by clinicians and are not equivalent to incarceration or forced shelter placement.
Mamdani said outreach workers were canvassing known encampments, transit hubs, and areas flagged through 311 calls, arguing that the city cannot wait for people to seek help on their own during extreme cold.
Separately, Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol became emotional during Monday’s briefing as he discussed plans to step down next month. Iscol said his final day will be Feb. 11.
“I’ve found that government really is truly at its best when it’s a team sport,” Iscol said.
Making the grade?
The storm marked Mamdani’s first major citywide emergency as mayor.
Asked to grade his administration’s response on Monday, the mayor declined.
“I will leave it to New Yorkers to give me a grade,” Mamdani said, instead crediting advance planning and the work of sanitation workers and other city employees who began preparing days before snow fell.
Over the weekend, Mamdani conducted a local media blitz to keep residents informed and was spotted across the city helping dig out cars and taking selfies — without a hat, a detail that even drew concern from Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“People care a lot if I don’t wear a hat,” Mamdani joked. “I was brushing it off. And then towards the end of the day, my hair started to freeze, and I did put on a nice beanie, and I was much warmer.”
While the administration’s storm response was being closely watched, City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Council Member Pierina Sanchez raised separate concerns about the city’s handling of a fatal Bronx fire that displaced residents over the weekend.
In a joint statement, they cited confusion at the scene and a lack of clarity about whether it was safe for residents to return home.
Pressed on the issue, Mamdani said the FDNY arrived within five minutes, brought the fire under control in about 80 minutes, and that the preliminary cause was electrical wiring.
He said agencies, including the Department of Buildings and Housing Preservation and Development, coordinated with the FDNY to assist displaced residents, who were offered hotel placements. Mamdani said he spoke directly with Sanchez to address the coordination concerns.
