On July 16, 2026, the New York City Council Committee on Aging held a meeting to vote on Proposed Int. No. 812-A, a local law requiring the commissioner of aging to develop a protocol for wellness checks on older adults during extreme weather events. Councilmember Gale Brewer chaired the meeting in the absence of Chair Susan Zhuang. The committee voted unanimously (6 in favor, 0 against, 1 absent) to approve the amended bill.
She's not counted for attendance roll. I'll come in for you, Bill. Good morning and welcome to today's New York City Council vote for the Committee on Aging. At this time, please silence all electronic devices. And just a reminder no one may approach a day as at any time. Chair, we are ready to begin. Thank you. I'm Gail Brewer. I will be chairing today's Committee on Aging vote in place of Councilmember Zwang, who couldn't be here today. She was on earlier, so I want to say thank you for that. Before we begin, I want to recognize the council members who are here. Zwang, like I said, was here earlier. We'll be voting on intro 812, sponsored by council member in Carcion. The bill would require the commissioner of aging to develop a protocol in collaboration with the New York City Emergency Management and other relevant agencies to conduct wellness checks in the event of cold weather alerts, extreme heat warnings, and heat related emergencies. These wellness checks would include a set of questions developed by aging to gauge an older adult's well-being and what the conditions are like in that older adult's place of residence, such as the temperature, the functionality of climate control equipment, and whether food and water is available. Older adults, that's me, are often more vulnerable to extreme hot and cold weather. I survive. Extreme heat or cold can disrupt across a disrupt access to the support that older adults need. It can also aggravate pre-existing health conditions. Last year, according to emergency management, 500 New Yorkers died prematurely due to preventable heat illnesses. As climate changes effects are felt in our city, the number of extreme heat days will only continue to rise. The city has already issued three extreme heat advisories this year, one of which was earlier this week. We will all remember how hot it was on the 4th of July weekend. This is all on the back uh back of extreme cold that gripped our city during the winter. The city must be prepared and aging. The department must be proactive during extreme weather events to protect older New Yorkers. I want to thank Councilmember Carcillon for her leadership on this issue. I want to thank the speaker and my colleagues for supporting this legislation. I want to thank the staff and advocates for their hard work. I pass this issue to the clerk to call the roll. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning, William Martin, Committee Clerk, roll call vote committee on aging. Acting Chair Brewer. Yes. Dinowitz. Yes. Hudson. Aye. Melee. Shulman. Aye. Howdeball. Aye. With a vote of five in the affirmative, zero in the negative and no abstentions. Item has been approved by the committee. I'm going to go. Council Member Zhuang. Aye. Thank you.