Require Wellness Checks for Seniors During Extreme Weather
Enacted on Jul 29, 2026Signed into law by the Mayor.
✦ Plain-Language Summary
This bill would require the city to check on older adults during dangerous weather like heat waves, cold snaps, and other emergencies. City workers would visit or call seniors to make sure they're safe, have working heat or air conditioning, and get help if needed. This would help protect vulnerable older residents in District 40 during weather emergencies.
Details
- Introduced
- Apr 16, 2026
- Body
- Committee on Aging
- Type
- Introduction
- Status
- Enacted (Mayor's Desk for Signature)
Official Description
This bill would require the Commissioner of the New York City (NYC) Department for the Aging (DFTA) to develop a protocol in collaboration with NYC Emergency Management and relevant agencies to conduct wellness checks during cold weather alerts, extreme heat warnings, and heat-related emergencies. Wellness checks would include a set of questions developed by DFTA to gauge an older adult’s well-being, a determination of such older adult’s apparent well-being, and a report on the conditions in such older adult’s place of residence. The bill would also repeal repetitions of the definition of “older adult” in subdivision a of section 21-205.1, subdivision a of section 21-210, subdivision a of section 21-211, subdivision a of section 21-215, and subdivision a of section 21-216 of the administrative code.