Monday, 20 May 2024

Heat Wave Keeps Its Grip on New York, Even After Nightfall

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The sun went down. The heat? Not so much.

The temperatures that soared to nearly 100 degrees on Saturday hardly abated with nightfall, settling to around 90 degrees by midnight, leaving New Yorkers with little comfort from the conditions they had dealt with all day. And Sunday will be more of the same.

New York, like much of the country, has been in the grip of a heat wave, pushing officials in the city to declare a state of emergency lasting through the weekend as they fear the worst consequences such weather can bring. Meteorologists have issued extreme heat advisories stretching from the East Coast through the panhandle of Texas and the Midwest.

Today, the temperature in New York is expected to shoot right back up to the edge of 100 degrees, renewing worries about overburdening the city’s power system and the most vulnerable residents falling victim to the heat.

There were limited power outages in the city on Saturday. ConEd reporting at one point that more than 3,300 customers were without electricity, with about 1,400 in eastern Queens. Thousands of others across the country also lost power.

Forecasters said that oppressive heat would continue on Sunday across the Atlantic Coast, from South Carolina to Maine, with highs reaching into the upper 90s, and humidity that would make it feel well over 100 degrees. But showers and thunderstorms, and with them cooler temperatures, are expected closer to the Midwest. In New York, rainfall — and relief from the heat — is expected on Monday.

As part of the city’s response to extreme temperatures, it opened hundreds of cooling centers, including one at the Jacob A. Riis Settlement House, a community center serving Queensbridge Houses residents in Long Island City. It did not draw a huge crowd, but the people who took advantage of it, like the group assembled for a tenants association meeting, were grateful.

“Doesn’t it feel delicious?” said April Simpson, the president of Queensbridge Tenants Association.

Many without air-conditioning poured into the streets on Saturday. They queued up in long lines for community swimming pools, played in the water shooting from fire hydrants and sought shade wherever they could find it.

Paris Campbell, 50, sat on a stoop on 125th Street in Harlem, smoking a cigarette and listening to soul music. Mr. Campbell works as a janitor in the building, which does not have air-conditioning. “All I can do to deal with the heat is come out here and take a break,” he said.

Dream Harris was among those trying to take advantage of the situation.

“Ice-cold water! One dollar!” Dream, 7, shouted on Saturday afternoon from the corner of 152nd street and Morningside Avenue in Harlem.

“I don’t mind the heat,” her mother, Monica Harris, said. “New Yorkers always complain about it being too cold. Well, now they got a tropical climate, they should just enjoy it. Besides, it gives me an opportunity to teach my daughter about entrepreneurship.”

In less than an hour, Dream had made nearly $30. She unzipped the pink fanny-pack around her waist, and pointed to a wad of damp singles shoved inside. She planned to keep working until she was out of water. At that point, the plan was to dash through the sprinklers in St. Nicholas Park, pick up some more bottles and get back to work.

“Go on, Baby, you’re letting all your customers get away!” Ms. Harris said, nudging her daughter to chase after someone who walked by without buying a bottle of water.

Rebecca Liebson and Sean Piccoli contributed reporting.

Rick Rojas has been a staff reporter for The New York Times since 2014. He has been a regional correspondent for the Metro staff covering New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and has reported from The Times’ bureaus at 1 Police Plaza and in Phoenix and Sydney, Australia. @RaR

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