New York Construction News staff writer
Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order this week directing a whole-of-government response to protect workers from extreme heat, the first initiative of its kind in New York City history.
The Department of Buildings (DOB) will review and strengthen construction site heat safety requirements, with recommendations due by March 1, 2027. The order also reinforces existing protections for outdoor workers, including access to bathrooms and workplace reporting requirements.
Joined by labor unions, community organizations, city agency commissioners and workers, Mamdani signed the order at City Hall, underscoring his administration’s commitment to centering working people in government.
“With this Executive Order, we are helping to build a city that works for working people – no matter where they work. These resources and protections will help keep New Yorkers safe and healthy,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg. “The Executive Order builds on NYC Emergency Management’s (NYCEM) existing Beat the Heat program for residents by extending similar attention and resources to workers who have long faced rising temperatures without comparable protections.
“No one should have to choose between their paycheck and their health,” Mamdani said. “The workers building our skyline, delivering our packages, selling food on our street corners and keeping this city running deserve to come home safe at the end of every shift. In the past, workers have borne the burden of extreme heat while government looked the other way. We’re changing that because every worker’s life is worth protecting. As summer heats up, we’re taking a whole-of-government approach to keeping New Yorkers prepared, safe and cool.”
The Executive Order directs the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), NYCEM and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) to develop and distribute multilingual heat safety guidance for outdoor workers as soon as practicable this year. Guidance for indoor workers will be issued by March 1, 2027.
The order also requires every mayoral agency to develop and implement heat illness prevention plans for City employees and contractors. DOHMH is directed to study the relationship between extreme heat and workers’ compensation claims and evaluate whether heat illness should be designated a reportable health condition.
The Executive Order is part of the administration’s broader heat preparedness strategy. Earlier this month, Mayor Mamdani released a public service announcement encouraging New Yorkers to stay vigilant during extreme heat and recognize the symptoms of heat exhaustion. For the first time in New York City history, more than 2,200 LinkNYC kiosks will display real-time walking directions to the nearest NYC Cooling Center within a 10-minute walk. Kiosks will automatically update using data from the City’s Cool Options Finderopens in a new tab as cooling centers open and close during heat emergencies.
More than 1.4 million New Yorkers — one-third of the city’s workforce — spend extended periods working outdoors each summer, including construction workers, day laborers, street vendors, delivery workers, truck drivers and warehouse workers. Heat contributes to 500 deaths in New York City each year, making it one of the deadliest weather-related hazards facing New Yorkers.
“Extreme heat is a workplace hazard that deserves the same preventive measures, awareness, and response as any other threat to worker safety,” said Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani. “DOB enforces some of the most robust safety training requirements for construction sites anywhere across the globe, which has contributed to a major sustained decline in building construction related injuries in recent years. Under the Mayor’s leadership this administration is moving to better protect working New Yorkers from the dangers of heat illness, building on our progress to improve safety for both construction workers and the public.”
“Whether you’re a street vendor, construction worker, or any of the 1.4 million New Yorkers who make a living outdoors in our city, access to cooling, water, and comfort should never be out of reach,” said aid Chief Climate Officer Louise Yeung.. Today’s executive order raises the standard of care for the workers who build, deliver, and feed our city: to keep them safer and better prepared as the days get hotter and longer.”
