By Gus Saltonstall
City leadership is urging New Yorkers to take precautions starting Tuesday morning due to the arrival of the summer’s first heat wave.
The New York City Emergency Management Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has issued an official warning of “extreme heat,” citing the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast. Extreme heat is defined as a period when the heat index is 100 degrees or higher for one or more days, or 95 degrees or higher for two or more consecutive days. The heat index, according to the NWS, is “what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature.”
Temperatures will hit the low 90s on Tuesday and Wednesday, before heating up even more and reaching projections of up to 99 degrees on Thursday and Friday.
The extreme heat warning starts 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
“A heat wave can be more than just uncomfortable, it can be deadly and life threatening if you are not prepared,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a press conference on Monday. “I encourage all New Yorkers to have a plan to beat the heat and make sure to check in on your neighbors, especially your older adult neighbors, to drink water, and to keep pets hydrated.”
Approximately 350 older New Yorkers die each summer due to hot weather.
On Tuesday, Adams activated a plan dubbed — “Extreme Heat: Beat the Heat!” — that will include the opening of hundreds of cooling centers across the five boroughs.
A cooling center is a community center-type building that allows members of the public to come in and cool off. Senior centers and libraries make up a large chunk of them, and some centers are only open to older adults.
Outdoor public pools are not open until June 27.
Dozens of these cooling centers are on the Upper West Side. Here are the locations:
Morningside Heights Library: 2900 Broadway
- Open: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
ABSW OAC-Older Adult Center: 221 West 107th Street
- Open: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Older adults only
Center at the Red Oak OAC: 135 West 106th Street
- Open: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Older adults only
Frederick Douglass Social Club: 868 Amsterdam Avenue
- Open: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Older adults only
Bloomingdale Library: 150 West 100th Street
- Open: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Goddard Riverside OAC: 593 Columbus Avenue
- Open: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Redeemer West Side: 150 West 83rd Street
- Open: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
St. Agnes Library: 444 Amsterdam Avenue
- Open: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
JASA Club 76: 120 West 76th Street
- Older adults only
- Open: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Find Aid Hamilton: 141 West 73rd Street
- Older adults only
- Open: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Riverside Library: 127 Amsterdam Avenue
- Open: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Goddard Riverside LSNC: 250 West 65th Street
- Older adults only
- Open: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Library for the Performing Arts: 40 Lincoln Center Plaza
- Open: 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The Harmony Atrium: 61 West 62nd Street
- Open: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
You can check out the complete map of cooling centers from the city — HERE.
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here.
Thanks! But everyone please note that all branches of the NY public library will be closed Wednesday for the Juneteenth holiday
I am glad the City is attempting to help.
I was at the Bloomingdale Library yesterday, and AFAIK, the AC was not on. I was sweating in there.
It would be great, when you give addresses that are Avenues, to put the cross street in as well.
For example:
593 Columbus Avenue (at ??th St.)
or 444 Amsterdam Avenue (between ??th and ??th Sts.)
That kind of thing.
Google Weather for 10025 has Tuesday 88, Wednesday 88, Thursday 91, Friday 92, Saturday 87, Sunday 88, Monday 89, and Tuesday 86. While certainly warm, I’m surprised “extreme” is being used for late June.
My admonishment for the elderly and vulnerable is to not move around much in the heat. Oh, and cold showers/baths for those who can stand it.
With high humidity, the real feel temperature will be Tues 99, Wed 98, Thurs 97, Fri 103, Sat 91, Sun 94
Pretty paltry list especially since there’s nothing open at night. Shame on the Mayor.
Hope restaurants and stores will follow the law and close doors when the air conditioning is on.
Also assuming that energy could be saved if commercial buildings did not have glaring lights on all night when no one is in the building….
Several times the phrase “older adults” is mentioned. At what specific age is a person considered an “older adult?” (asking for a friend)
When one is older than old.:)
Nice photo
Neighbors, I highly recommend a rechargeable neck fan! Lightweight and $30 on Amazon. Looks like a pair of headphones around the neck
Correction – The Library for the Performing Arts is open today (Tues the 18th) from 10:30-6.
All NYPL branches are *closed* tomorrow, the 19th for Juneteenth.
LPA is open on Thursday from 10:30-8 and Friday & Saturday 10:30-6
I was watching kids playing in a water play area at a playground this morning and though “Wouldn’t it be great if there were a fountain feature adults could use?” I suppose it could turn into a melee, but it would be fun.
Maybe it’s an idea for a Riverside Park Conservancy fundraiser: throw a donation-based evening event at a playground water feature, just for adults. Serve mocktails with little umbrellas. Everyone gets an RPC beach towel.
The hours for the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in the next few days are:
Thursday: 10:30 a.m.—8 p.m.
Friday-Saturday: 10:30 a.m.—6 p.m.
See the website for hours on all days: https://www.nypl.org/locations/lpa
My elderly mom is disabled and moved in with me recently. We live on the 14th floor. She can barely walk on her own and she cannot climb stairs. I am worried about how I will get her out (in order to get to a cooling center) if the electric goes out for a prolonged period in the summer. I imagine the elevators will not work if the electric is out!. I’m especially worried if it happens when I”m not home. Curious how people have handled a situations like this.