New York City is under lockdown… sort of! Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced remote learning for all schools, massive transit disruptions, and emergency measures as one of the biggest snowstorms in years hits the city.
What you need to know:
Schools closed for in-person classes tomorrow (Jan 26) – remote learning ONLY
NYC Ferry suspended, Staten Island Ferry now hourly, major bus and subway changes
DSNY & city crews plowing nonstop with 700 salt spreaders & 2,200 plows
Warming centers and shelters OPEN – Code Blue in effect
Life-threatening cold expected – Mayor urges everyone to stay home and check on neighbors
#NYCShutdown #SnowstormNYC #MayorMamdani #RemoteSchool #WinterStormAlert #NYCTransitChaos #CodeBlueNYC #NYCWeather #SnowDay2026 #EmergencyNYC
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What you need to know:
Schools closed for in-person classes tomorrow (Jan 26) – remote learning ONLY
NYC Ferry suspended, Staten Island Ferry now hourly, major bus and subway changes
DSNY & city crews plowing nonstop with 700 salt spreaders & 2,200 plows
Warming centers and shelters OPEN – Code Blue in effect
Life-threatening cold expected – Mayor urges everyone to stay home and check on neighbors
#NYCShutdown #SnowstormNYC #MayorMamdani #RemoteSchool #WinterStormAlert #NYCTransitChaos #CodeBlueNYC #NYCWeather #SnowDay2026 #EmergencyNYC
Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpLEtz3H0jSfEneSdf1YKnw/join
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NewsTranscript
00:00For the past several days, a vast coordinated citywide response has prepared New York City
00:06for one of the largest anticipated snowfalls and periods of sustained cold in recent years.
00:12I just got out of a comprehensive NISOM emergency planning meeting where I was briefed on everything
00:18our city continues to do to respond to this storm. I'm grateful to our NISOM leadership,
00:24our agency leadership, and every single city worker who has been working tirelessly
00:29in freezing conditions. Our city is in good stead thanks to them. And while I will share details
00:36and updates from the briefing, before I do, I want to also speak directly to the parents and students
00:42of New York City. As we announced earlier this morning, due to extreme weather conditions,
00:47tomorrow will be a remote school day. There will be no in-person instruction. All after-school programs,
00:54adult education, and school-based programming has been canceled. For high schoolers and students
01:00in schools serving grades 6 through 12 with a previously scheduled professional learning day,
01:06tomorrow will remain a day off. And as of 10.20 a.m. this morning, we saw that more than 162,000
01:15students had already logged on in advance of tomorrow's remote school day, as well as 77,000
01:22teachers. We say that because we want the city to know that our teachers, administrators, and
01:28students are prepared for this. We have stress-tested systems, sent students home with the materials and
01:34technology they need to learn virtually, and are working with vendors to ensure that our systems
01:39have the capacity that they need. And I know that this may disappoint some students, so if you do see
01:46me, feel free to throw a snowball at me. In terms of the forecast, we are continuing to expect up to
01:5211 inches of snow. We anticipate continued heavy snowfall this afternoon, with several hours of sustained
01:5935-mile-per-hour wind gusts. Around 8 p.m. this evening, light freezing rain will begin to fall and continue
02:08overnight. This weather will taper off tomorrow, but New Yorkers can expect a mix of light snow,
02:14freezing drizzle, and wind gusts to continue until around noon. Now, this storm is not only bringing
02:21snow with it. It carries temperatures colder than any sustained period this city has experienced
02:26for eight years. For those without shelter, the intense cold can be fatal. Yesterday alone,
02:34before the snow had even begun to come down, at least five New Yorkers passed away and were found
02:39outside. I send my deepest condolences to their families and loved ones. While we do not yet know
02:46their causes of death, there is no more powerful reminder of the danger of extreme cold and how
02:52vulnerable many of our neighbors are, especially homeless New Yorkers. We have sufficient resources
02:57to shelter every New Yorker in this city, and our teams are scouring the streets, providing outreach.
03:02Our administration has opened 10 warming centers in school buildings across the city, two in each
03:09borough, and they will be operational through at least tomorrow evening. Food will be provided at each
03:15of these sites. That is in addition to the 126 shelters, over 50 hospitals, and 35 safe havens where
03:23people in need can come in and get warm. A code blue remains in effect, and DSS staff and partners are
03:31checking in on our most vulnerable residents every two hours. But I also ask New Yorkers to help us in
03:36this moment of need. If you see anyone you believe might require help, please do not wait to call
03:42311. In a code blue as we are currently in, any one of your 311 calls on this issue will be rerouted
03:49directly to 911. And I want to be very clear, no one in this city will be denied shelter. All hospitals,
03:57Department of Homeless Services drop-in centers, and DHS shelters have a fully open
04:03door policy, with enough shelter beds for every single New Yorker in need. Should homeless New Yorkers require
04:09hospital services, DHS will connect with hospital emergency departments to assess needs and capacity. We want
04:17every single New Yorker to make it through this storm. As we contend with this snow and bracing cold, New Yorkers should rest
04:25assured, this is exactly what our city government has prepared for. DSNY pre-salted highways and major
04:33streets beginning Friday at 6 in the morning. Since last night, over 2,500 sanitation workers have been
04:40deployed on every single 12-hour shift laying down salt. To give you an idea, the first snowfall landed at
04:47Staten Island this morning at 5 a.m. By 5.10 a.m., sanitation had already started spreading salt citywide.
04:55The public plow tracker is also live for New Yorkers to be able to follow along, and you can do so at
05:02NYC.gov forward slash plow NYC. What you will see if you log in there is the fact that these sanitation
05:10workers had already completed a full plow across the city by 8.30 a.m. This immense snow fighting
05:18operation, the largest in the entire country, is working across our city every single minute. We are
05:24speaking of more than 700 salt spreaders and 2,200 plow vehicles, which are being monitored in real
05:31time by DSNY's Blade Runner system. Every agency across the whole of government is working in close
05:38coordination with each other and with NYC. DOT crews are tending to bridges. Parks Department workers are
05:45removing snow and downed trees from our parks. The NYPD is providing escorts to EMS and DSNY as needed,
05:52and the FDNY is maintaining its full emergency response capability. The MTA is continuing regular
05:58operations, although conditions may require service adjustments, while the Long Island Railroad and
06:03Metro North are operating at reduced schedules. Due to the declining visibility and snow of this
06:09weather emergency, NYC Ferry has suspended all service until further notice. Updates will be provided
06:15through the NYC Ferry app and ferry.nyc. The Staten Island Ferry is continuing to run at this time,
06:21but it has moved to hourly service. We also know that all bus service has been suspended at Port
06:28Authority. Additionally, all three public library systems will be closed today and tomorrow. Utilities
06:36are being monitored by Con Ed and National Grid teams, and they have representatives present in the
06:40NYC Emergency Operations Center. Ambulances will arrive at their destinations. This is the first major storm,
06:48where 100% of FDNY ambulances are four-wheel drive. The FDNY has also added additional ambulances from
06:56voluntary hospital partners, and NISOM is actively tracking ambulances via their stuck ambulance
07:01dashboard. If an ambulance is stuck or unable to respond to a call, another will be deployed. Thus far,
07:08there have been no reports of stuck ambulances in New York City. As we speak, city workers are working
07:14relentlessly across our city to keep our streets clear, to get people into shelter, and to respond
07:20to those who need help. The single most helpful thing that New Yorkers can do is to stay at home,
07:27and especially to stay off the roads. I cannot emphasize this enough. Please, if you can avoid it,
07:35do not drive. One of the reports we received earlier today from sanitation is there are still far too
07:41many New Yorkers out on the roads. Conditions are dangerous, and a hazardous travel advisory is in
07:47effect for today and for tomorrow. Now, if you are shoveling snow outside of your home, please pace
07:54yourself and do not try to clear everything at once. It is going to take multiple passes. Check in on seniors
08:00and help your neighbors who may need extra support. The snow is coming down heavily across our city,
08:07and I can think of no better excuse for New Yorkers to stay home, take a long nap, or take advantage of
08:14our public library's offer of free access to heated rivalry on ebook or audiobook for anyone with a
08:19library card. I encourage New Yorkers to join the more than million who have already signed up for
08:25regular Notify NYC updates, and you can do so by texting Notify NYC to 692-692. Finally, while I
08:33want to again express my gratitude to the incredible city workers who have kept our city running through
08:39this snowstorm, I also want to thank every single New Yorker who has been doing their part to help
08:44New Yorkers across the city. I have heard of countless stories of neighbors bringing meals to other
08:50neighbors, young people helping senior citizens navigate slippery conditions, friends grocery
08:55shopping for those who cannot shop for themselves. This is the compassionate, caring New York that we
09:01all know and love. The New York that always shows up in moments of challenge and adversity. Together we will
09:07clear the roads, teach our children, tend to the sick, and keep our city running. Stay warm New York City,
09:14stay prepared, stay safe. Thank you very much. And now our Schools Chancellor, Kumar Samuels.
09:24Good afternoon. I hope you are staying warm and inside. As we continue to communicate, I wanted to
09:32make sure I said it again. We have decided that tomorrow we will pivot to our remote learning day.
09:41That would be January 26th. Preparation matters in moments like this. Over the last few days,
09:51teams across the entire agency and across schools have been getting ready for this moment. Preparing
09:59lessons and our students went home on Friday with the devices and supplies that need that they need for
10:08a successful remote learning day. Standing up IT help desks to support any families who need it. And
10:16preparing our buildings to weather the storm. And over the last several months, our educators have been
10:24setting up virtual classrooms and our IT team has been testing the system to ensure our students will be
10:31able to log in. Teachers and administrators, we've got this. We know you'll be prepared to offer a great
10:43remote learning experience. So, on Monday, here is what to expect. Students in grades K to 8 will receive
10:51both real-time and asynchronous instruction. Students, don't worry. There are many hours in the day.
10:59You'll work hard, but there will be time to enjoy the snow too. High schoolers and students who attend
11:06schools serving grades 6 through 12 will already be off due to a previously scheduled remote
11:14previously scheduled professional learning day. Educators participating in those PDs will also be remote.
11:20Our facilities teams will be at our schools shoveling and de-icing so that our buildings can reopen on
11:28Tuesday. I want to thank Mayor Mamdani's team and all our sister agencies standing up here and all the ones
11:37working across the city to ensure our city is ready for the storm. And the journalists who are here helping
11:44spread these critical messages. Most importantly, I'd like to thank everyone across our school
11:51communities. I am deeply appreciative and grateful for all your flexibility and patience. And I look
11:59forward to reopening our doors as soon as we are able to.
12:05Good afternoon. Snow is coming down and folks at the MTA have been hard at work all weekend preparing us to
12:18power through this storm. And I have to deliver as the mayor did major kudos to the MTA workers
12:24who have been on the front lines. Last night, I visited bus depots around the system to see the
12:30preparations. This morning, I was at the Michael J. Quill bus depot in the middle of Manhattan and at
12:35the rail control center where all the subway operations are monitored. And so far, the preparations
12:41have really been paying off. Things have been running smoothly. There are delays, there are adjustments to
12:47service, but all subway lines, ladies and gentlemen, are operating. And most of them are operating as
12:54locals. So the express trains, A, C, D, E, F, the N and the Q are all operating local, partly because we
13:04stored a lot of trains on the local tracks to keep them out of harm's way of the outdoor snow. We ran all
13:11the deicing trains last night to protect the third rail. Snow throwers are on the move already. And the snow
13:19jets are operating in the yards with these big airplane engines that blow all the snow
13:24out of sight. Buses are running, some with delays. 18 routes out of approximately 265 have reroutes
13:34because of localized conditions. And all buses, that's the SBS, the rush routes, the limited routes,
13:42everything is running local, so we do not leave anybody on the street. So the folks who are standing
13:48at a bus stop are going to get whatever bus comes by stopping for them. The entire bus fleet has been outfitted
13:54with chains. And as I said, the snow fighting vehicles are on the move, supplementing the amazing work of the
14:02sanitation crews who are running the plows. Not a lot of demand for paratransit accessorized for our mobility impaired
14:10customers, but it is operating if you do need it under, as the mayor says, a very rare occasion where
14:17you really need to go somewhere. Both commuter railroads are operating under modified schedule,
14:22so I'm just going to tick it off for folks. On the Long Island Railroad service every half hour on the
14:28Babylon branch, hourly service on the Port Washington branch, and on the Port Jefferson branch
14:34between Huntington and the city. No service east of Ronkonkoma out to Greenpoint, Greenport,
14:41and tomorrow we plan to run a regular Sunday schedule. Metro North is operating a Sunday
14:48schedule today, and tomorrow we'll be operating a holiday schedule, the MLK schedule. Otherwise,
14:54they're running hourly service on all three major mainlines, Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven.
15:00Bridges and tunnels, all of our toll bridges and tunnels in the city are operating. Traffic is light,
15:07which is fortunate, and the facilities are in decent shape. Just reinforcing again the point that
15:14the mayor made, which is if you can stay home, I'm in the transit business. We love customers,
15:19but if you can't stay home, please do so. If you must travel, use extra caution, and check the customer
15:25service channels. New York City has great customer service channels, which will tell you stuff,
15:30but also the MTA has our MTA app, the train time app. MTA.info is our website, and you can sign up for a
15:38customized service alert that will tell you about your train or your bus and how it's operating. So
15:43with that, thank you to the mayor and the entire city team. I spoke to the governor, and she is very
15:49focused on what's going downstate and going on downstate as well as upstate, and everybody should
15:55just stay safe. And if you can, stay indoors. Thank you.
15:59Okay, we'll take questions now for everyone from there.
16:03Go ahead.
16:05Talk about the five deaths. You know, what work happened before Saturday to interact with the homeless?
16:15What's working now with encampments and people who are out in the cold? Is homeless services out there
16:22looking for people in the cold?
16:23So first and foremost, we mourn the loss of any and every New Yorker, and we are keeping those five
16:31New Yorkers in our thoughts as well as their friends and their family. At this time, it is still too early
16:36to say what the cause of death was for any of the five of them. And it seems at this moment that
16:42we do not think any of them were homeless. The Department of Homeless Services is conducting
16:48regular outreach to homeless New Yorkers across the five boroughs. We are speaking about outreach
16:53that is being conducted every two hours. Prior to Friday, we had already been in a code blue.
16:59That's when we go below freezing temperatures. And what that means is it's a moment where we bypass
17:04the typical intake procedures that take place at a shelter. At this moment, the focus is not on
17:09filling out forms. It's on filling our shelter beds. So we were having city workers, incredible
17:14city workers who are doing such important work right now, canvassing homeless New Yorkers across
17:20the city and connecting them with shelter, connecting them with services. If they are in need of immediate
17:25medical services, then doing so as well. And I do also just have to both appreciate New Yorkers who
17:31have been calling 3-1-1 whenever they see a homeless New Yorker who's outside at this time,
17:35as well as ask New Yorkers to continue to do so. Because those calls are rerouted to 9-1-1,
17:39and that is then another point of outreach that we can have to keep somebody indoors.
17:43I think the first thing you should do is call 3-1-1 so that the city is aware of it. I am heartened by the
18:07reports that we've received thus far that we have not seen such outages as yet, though it was a key
18:12part of our briefing was both anticipating and hearing the reports of what the current status is.
18:17Additionally, when I am telling New Yorkers to stay home and to stay safe and to avoid unnecessary
18:23travel, I would also remind every New Yorker that in a moment such as this, with this kind of immense
18:28cold, to also be very careful with the use of remote space heaters. We are speaking about the need
18:33to ensure that you always monitor the operation of a space heater, as well as keep it
18:38more than three feet away from anything that is flammable. Thank you.
18:42Yes, go ahead.
18:42Mayor, we know that commuters are going to need to come to work tomorrow. We know they come from
18:47outside of New York and New Jersey. What would you say to those commuters,
18:51and have you been in contact with Governor Sherrill in New Jersey?
18:54So, I haven't yet been in contact with Governor Sherrill over the course of this snowstorm. What I can tell
18:59you, however, is that I've been in close contact with Governor Hochul and Governor Hochul's team. We have all been in
19:04regular constant communication as we know that these conditions pose a real danger to New Yorkers.
19:10I am thankful for the incredible work of our sanitation workers, as well as the workers and
19:15the leadership at the MTA for ensuring that when we speak about service in our public transit, it is
19:20continuing at this time. If anything, there may be minimal service delays, but by and large, it is as
19:26expected. Now, the key part of this is not just how we meet the moment of the storm, but also how we recover
19:32from the storm. And as you said, for tomorrow, we are still trying to take every precaution we can
19:37so that if a New Yorker does not have to come into work, that they actually do that work remotely.
19:42For those that do, we are trying to do everything we can to make it as least hazardous as possible.
19:47I don't know, Jano, if you want to add anything.
19:48No, you got it right.
19:49Okay.
19:50Two things. Going back to the fatalities yesterday, you said that those who don't believe
19:57were homeless.
19:58At this time, it doesn't appear that those New Yorkers were homeless.
20:01Do you have any others to tell about it?
20:03You know, there is a medical examiner's investigation that is currently ongoing. As
20:07soon as we have the results from that autopsy, we will be releasing that.
20:11And then on school, if it wasn't too long ago that you told
20:14Hellgate that you were pro-snow day, if kids can go to school, what changed your mind on that?
20:21You know, I think there's always the tussle between the head and the heart.
20:24I can tell you as a New Yorker who loved snow days growing up and would sit and watch local
20:30news at 5am to see if my school was mentioned on the ticker at the bottom. I know what this
20:34means for students. That's why I've invited them to pelt me in the face with a snowball.
20:38However, New York City also operates in accordance with state law where we have to have 180 days of
20:43instruction. And given the additions of holidays over the past few administrations, it reduces the
20:48flexibility that we can have to have an old-fashioned snow day.
20:52All right, for that time, we're going to want more. All right. Yeah, go ahead.
20:57You said you had much faith in the technology as soon as you're going remote tomorrow.
21:02If there is, for a chance, a hiccup, what do parents or children need to know in that case?
21:08So the first thing I would say is we've already increased our capacity at our help desks from
21:13about 90 to 140 people. If there is any kind of an issue that a parent or a student is facing,
21:18I would tell them that they should call our support desk. They can do so at 718-935-5100.
21:27That is a support desk that will be active from 6am tomorrow to 6pm. And I do also just want to
21:34acknowledge and appreciate the work of our chancellor, the work of our DOE, because what they've been doing
21:41is ensuring that we learn from the lessons of the past. That means stress testing the system
21:46such that it can handle a capacity of the entire school system logging on. Now, we know that tomorrow
21:53it will not be the entire school system because high school students and students at schools that
21:58have grades 6 through 12 already have a previously scheduled day off as part of professional training
22:05day. And yet what we know is that the system would be prepared even if that was the case. So for every
22:10student that will be logging on tomorrow, our principals are fully prepared. Thanks to the
22:14hard work of those at DOE where we will have staggered start times that students have their tech,
22:19and it's going to be a good remote learning day. Thank you, everyone. Thank you.
22:46.
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