Comptroller's report claims there aren't enough cooling centers in NYC

A new report by the City Comptroller's Office looked at cooling center accessibility across the city between July 19 - July 25 and found major disparities across all five boroughs.

News 12 Staff

Aug 5, 2022, 4:15 PM

Updated 791 days ago

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A new report by the City Comptroller's Office looked at cooling center accessibility across the city between July 19 - July 25 and found major disparities across all five boroughs.
They also specifically mention Brooklyn's East Flatbush area, where there are only two cooling centers in this neighborhood: Rugby Library and one on Clarendon Road. The report claims nearly half of cooling centers across the city have an age requirement due to the locations being senior centers.
Ten neighborhoods with the highest heat vulnerability and lowest number of cooling centers per 100,000 people included Brooklyn and Bronx neighborhoods. For Brooklyn, East Flatbush, Crown Heights and Prospect Heights, Borough Park, Lefferts Gardens and Bedford Stuyvesant were mentioned. For the Bronx, Kingsbridge Heights and Bedford, Fordham and University Heights, and Highbridge and Concourse were included.
Of the cooling centers that are open, at least half were listed as closed on Saturdays and more than 80% closed on Sundays, according to the report.
Officials say that extreme heat is only going to get worse and that the city needs to take action now.
The comptroller's office has made a number of recommendations to the city on how to combat this problem, including calling on the city to open more cooling centers across New York City.
News 12 reached out to the city's Office of Emergency Management. They did not directly answer the concerns addressed in the report, but say they conduct extensive evaluation and, "We want all communities to have equitable access to cooling centers, which is why we have a record number of cooling centers open this season."