For Elsa Quevedo, 70, having Sunnyside Community Services as a cooling center on these hot days is a huge relief.
“Because it’s very hot outside, it’s an oven outside. I can’t stay at home because I live alone, so this is a tremendous help for me,” said Elsa.
This cooling center is attracting more seniors to the community organization.
“We save lives here on these hot days,” said Shyvonne Noboa, Sunnyside Community Services.
While on the street some New Yorkers like Oscal Leal are enjoying the heat.
“For me right now the weather is good, it seems like a very pleasant climate for riding a bicycle. The problem is that when it’s cold you can’t do anything, when it’s hot we can do many things so we have to take advantage of it,” said Leal.
Others don’t enjoy it as much.
“You feel very humid, very… you feel better on the train and on the bus than being on the street walking,” said Ana Marín.
And this Thursday the temperatures have passed 90 degrees, on a day that meteorologists consider to be the hottest day of the year here in our city so far.
And now New York is preparing for a possible heat wave. New York One’s latest forecasts indicate it will be in the low to mid 90s through Saturday. On Saturday we could reach 97 degrees.
We already have a heat warning for our city that starts at 12 noon this Friday and continues until Saturday at 8 pm.
The air quality alert has been extended for this Friday and there are possibilities of some storms for these days.
And all this just when summer officially began this Thursday.
And according to a study by the city’s health department, each summer, on average, an estimated 350 New Yorkers die from the heat.
“We have distributed more than 70,000 air conditioners throughout the city to the most vulnerable New Yorkers, of which 16,000 are in NAYCHA housing for higher-risk individuals,” said Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan. “We are also working on an energy assistance program to reduce the cost of energy.”
The cooling center at Sunnyside Community Services will remain open this Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The city has more than 550 locations that are serving as cooling centers.
To find a center near you, visit the website finder.nyc.gov/coolingcenters
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