As New York City faces increasingly brutal summers, the City Council has passed a new measure aimed at bringing more transparency to how homeless shelters handle extreme heat. The bill requires the city to publicly report how many shelters have air conditioning in sleeping or congregate areas, and what it would take to install cooling systems in those that don’t.
The goal is simple but essential: to ensure people experiencing homelessness have safe and dignified living conditions, especially as heat waves become more frequent.
“We just want the opportunity for New Yorkers staying there to feel like they deserve a dignified space and an outlet if and when that doesn’t happen,” said Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez, who sponsored the legislation.
According to the city’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS), nearly half of the shelters under its oversight lack air conditioning where people sleep. Yet this information isn’t easily accessible to lawmakers or the public, making it difficult to hold the system accountable.
Under the new law, DHS will be required to alert City Council members if a shelter in their district has a broken air conditioning system for more than 72 hours. The bill also mandates semiannual reports, released each April and November, detailing which shelters have functioning cooling systems.
Gutiérrez emphasized that the issue is about more than comfort. “Every summer we hear of more people dying because they don’t have access to AC or their units are broken,” she said. “We don’t want that reflected in our shelters.”
Installing air conditioning in older shelters is not as simple as plugging in a unit. Many facilities require significant electrical upgrades, new wiring, or renovations before they can support cooling systems. Some buildings have sealed windows or layouts that make it impossible to use traditional window units.
The DHS has already begun addressing the issue by requiring any new city-funded shelters to include air conditioning. The agency has also encouraged nonprofit partners to develop and own new shelters to ensure better long-term infrastructure.
Nicholas Jacobelli, a spokesperson for DHS, warned that the new reporting requirements could create additional financial strain on providers. “Many of these older buildings were not designed for modern cooling systems,” he said. “That is why we’re focused on developing new, high-quality shelters where air conditioning is required, rather than adding unnecessary costs to outdated facilities.”
The first citywide report under this new law is due one year after it takes effect. It will include a detailed cost and feasibility assessment for upgrading every shelter without proper cooling.
The measure might not bring instant relief to those enduring sweltering nights in crowded facilities, but advocates see it as a necessary first step toward accountability and modernization. With temperatures in the city continuing to climb, transparency may be the foundation for lasting change.