One person was found dead on a Bronx street over the weekend amid New York City’s ongoing deep freeze, bringing the number of outdoor deaths linked to the extreme cold to 18, city officials said Monday.

The individual was discovered just after 9 a.m. Saturday near East Gun Hill Road and Seymour Avenue, according to City Hall. No identifying information was released.

The latest death comes amid a weekslong cold snap that has pushed temperatures to their lowest levels in more than two decades. Over the weekend, wind chills dropped below minus 15 degrees in some areas, while overnight temperatures sank into the single digits, creating dangerous conditions for anyone without reliable shelter.

Officials said the person found in the Bronx appeared to have been sleeping outside under a blue blanket on a snow-covered sidewalk.

The death is the latest in a series of fatalities during the prolonged freeze, which has strained the city’s shelter system and emergency services and raised concerns about the safety of homeless people.

Separately, police said an 81-year-old man was found dead around 10 a.m. Saturday on the roof of his building at 3310 Avenue H in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn. Authorities believe he slipped on a patch of ice.

City officials said that death was not included in the cold-weather toll because it did not occur on a public street or outdoors away from a residence.

Throughout the cold snap, the city has expanded warming centers, increased outreach efforts, and urged residents to call 311 if they see someone in distress. Officials have said emergency shelters remain open and available.

Advocates, however, say extreme weather continues to expose gaps in the city’s housing and social services systems, particularly for people who avoid shelters due to safety concerns, mental health issues, or past trauma. For those people, there is little they can do, because they cannot force people into shelters under Mamdani’s policies.

The freeze has also disrupted daily life across the city, with icy roads, frozen infrastructure, and increased hospital visits related to cold exposure. City officials said they will continue monitoring conditions and maintaining emergency measures as temperatures gradually rise in the coming days.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)