February 19, 2026 NEW YORK, NY The "Summer of Compassion" has met a freezing, brutal reality.
After a historic and deadly cold snap left 20 New Yorkers dead on our streets, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has officially pulled the plug on his moratorium on encampment sweeps. In a move that has sent shockwaves through his progressive base, the Mayor confirmed Wednesday that the city will once again begin dismantling the makeshift homes of the unhoused—reversing the very policy he once championed as the moral bedrock of his administration.
A Deadly Winter Forces a New York Reversal
For weeks, New York City sat paralyzed in a "Code Blue" grip, one of the longest stretches of freezing temperatures in modern history. But as the ice thaws, a grim political reality has emerged. Despite the administration's efforts to open warming centers and hotel units, the body count was too high to ignore.
City Hall is now pivoting. Mamdani, who famously blasted former Mayor Eric Adams’ sweeps as a "failure" that "pushed people out of sight," now insists his version will be different.
“I made a decision with my team to put a pause on that prior administration’s policy as we started to develop our own policy that would deliver far better outcomes,” Mamdani stated during a Wednesday press conference.
The New Playbook: DHS Over NYPD
The hallmark of the "Mamdani Sweep" is a shift in optics and agency. Unlike the previous administration, which used the NYPD to lead the charge, the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) will now take the helm.
The New Strategy Includes:
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A 7-Day Window: Outreach teams will give initial notice and then engage with individuals repeatedly for an entire week before any "cleanup" begins.
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Relentless Engagement: The Mayor is betting on "relentless outreach" to build trust with wary New Yorkers who have historically avoided the shelter system.
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Increased Funding: The Mayor’s preliminary budget, released Tuesday, includes a significant funding boost specifically for these outreach efforts.
"Another Broken Promise"
Not everyone is buying the "compassionate sweep" narrative. The Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless wasted no time in slamming the reversal, calling it "another broken promise."
Critics point to a damning March 2025 Gothamist report which revealed that under the old system, only 114 out of 3,500 people moved during sweeps actually landed in shelters. Advocates argue that without low-barrier "Safe Haven" beds and permanent supportive housing, the city is simply rearranging the furniture on a sinking ship.
