A New York City sanitation cleanup around a makeshift homeless encampment under a Queens overpass is sharpening scrutiny of Mayor Zohran Mamdani's early decision to end police-led encampment sweeps.
Local officials demanded clearer direction on when the city will remove belongings left on sidewalks and how agencies will respond during extreme winter weather.
The New York Post reported that sanitation workers on Tuesday removed trash and some items from a cluster of bedding and belongings along Jamaica Avenue near 98th Street in Woodhaven, but left behind two air mattresses and neatly folded clothing and blankets near the site.
Councilmember Joann Ariola, a Republican who represents parts of southern Queens, criticized the approach and questioned whether items should be treated as abandoned once people leave an area.
"What's next, a city-funded turndown service for people sleeping on the streets?" Ariola said, according to the Post.
The dispute is unfolding weeks after Mamdani took office Jan. 1 and followed through on a campaign pledge to stop the city's practice of clearing sidewalk encampments, a policy that accelerated under former Mayor Eric Adams.
Under Adams, city officials conducted more than 4,100 encampment sweeps from January 2024 to June 2025, and about 260 people agreed to move to a shelter during that period.
Mamdani has argued that repeatedly clearing encampments does not solve street homelessness if people have nowhere stable to go.
"The answer is not that someone should find the safest places outside," Mamdani said Wednesday. "The answer is, how do we connect them with the services they need? And that's going to be the policies that we'll be putting forward."
The Post attributed specific limits on police responses, including requirements tied to body-worn cameras and the need for supervisor approval before ordering someone to leave an area.
City Hall and the City Council are also weighing broader changes to how the city responds to certain 911 calls, including a proposed Department of Community Safety.
Mamdani has said the city could spend $1 billion on the department, which would expand civilian-led mental health outreach and response in some situations now handled by police.
A City Council bill filed in December 2025 would create a Department of Community Safety in the city charter.
The current cold snap underscores the urgency of street outreach.
The city's Department of Homeless Services said, "No one who is homeless and seeking shelter in New York City during a Code Blue will be denied," and it urged New Yorkers to call 311 so outreach teams can offer assistance.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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