Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
Q&A
Distribution of cooling centers in Queens and comparison to other cities
0:56:15
ยท
151 sec
Council Member Schulman inquires about increasing cooling centers in Queens and compares NYC's program to other cities. Christina Farrell explains the city's efforts and highlights NYC's extensive program.
- The city is working to expand the number of cooling centers, especially in Queens
- NYC's program is far more extensive than other cities (e.g., Chicago only opens 6 centers)
- The city is open to suggestions for new cooling center locations
- Other cities like LA, Houston, and Miami have different approaches due to climate differences and higher AC saturation
Lynn C. Schulman
0:56:15
You know, according to the 2022 report, Queens had the lowest number of cooling centers per 100,000 residents.
0:56:21
What steps has the city taken to increase the number of cooling centers in Queens, and how many are intended to open during the next heat emergency plan activation?
Christina Farrell
0:56:30
We're right now working with our partners to see how many locations will be open this year.
0:56:38
Like I said, last year we started the season with six twenty potential and many days we had many more than 500 set up.
0:56:49
Looking at other locations, I think I mentioned before the city of Chicago for the entire city opens up six centers.
0:56:56
There's no
Lynn C. Schulman
0:56:56
Is that right?
Christina Farrell
0:56:57
There's no city, no jurisdiction to our knowledge that opens up anything remotely close to what we do.
0:57:05
But we understand that people want to stay home, stay close to home.
0:57:09
And so if you have ideas, you're both from Queens, if there are other places that you think could be helpful, you know, let us know and we will reach out to them and see if they wanna join the program.
Lynn C. Schulman
0:57:21
We have a casino soon, you can do that.
0:57:25
Is I said Queens.
0:57:30
So if what I wanna ask you, other cities, do do do you know what they do in aside from cooling schooling centers aside, do you know what they do in heat emergencies?
0:57:41
Because I know I mean particularly places like LA and other places.
0:57:46
I'm just curious.
0:57:47
Do you
Christina Farrell
0:57:48
They you know, it depends.
0:57:50
I would say that places like LA, we work with Houston, Harris County, Miami.
0:57:56
People and Carrie knows more about the science, but you know their triggers I think are higher than ours just because they have so many hotter days.
0:58:03
I think they have much more air conditioning saturation there because I don't think you want to live in one of those cities, and not have air conditioning.
0:58:11
So it's a little bit apples and oranges, but we have looked especially during COVID, you both were active during COVID.
0:58:19
In the summer of twenty twenty, there was the Get Cool program that emergency management oversaw with many partners and we actually the city was able to install 74,000 air conditioners in low income seniors apartments.
0:58:34
So you know some of those are still in in effect.
0:58:39
And so, you know, there there are different things that they do, but our program is by far the most comprehensive.