Newark, NJ – February 20, 2024 – Mayor Ras J. Baraka and Department of Health and Community Wellness Director Ketlen Baptiste Alsbrook are extending “Code Blue” for the City of Newark from tonight, Tuesday, February 20, at 8 p.m. to Thursday, February 22, at 8 a.m. During this period, temperatures are expected to drop to a low of 25°F.
“Code Blue” is called when temperatures fall to 32°F or below, or when there is a wind chill factor of 0°. Residents are advised to continue being cautious during extreme cold weather.
The City is also reminding residents that through its partnerships with Social Service agencies, there are emergency shelters operating during the extreme cold weather. For more information about sheltering services, contact the shelters listed below or the Office of Homeless Services at: (973) 877-9481, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Miller Street Pathways to Housing Center
41 Miller Street, Newark, NJ
(862) 229-4461
H.E.L.P. Center
224 Sussex Avenue, Newark, NJ
(973) 705-7200
The City offers the following tips on keeping homes safe and coping with extreme winter weather:
- Keep the house heated to a minimum of 68°F. The temperatures inside the walls where the pipes are located is substantially colder than the walls themselves. A temperature lower than 68°F will not keep the inside walls from freezing.
- Identify the locations for the main water shutoff in your home. Find out how it works in case you have to use it.
- Open hot and cold faucets enough to let them drip slowly. Keeping water moving within the pipes will prevent them from freezing.
- Check on seniors to make sure that they are warm and dry.
- Stay indoors as much as possible.
- Check all windows and doors for drafts. Place plastic if you feel a draft.
- Do not leave space heaters unattended.
- Do not use generators indoors.
- It is illegal to use kerosene heaters indoors.
- Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, such as furnaces, fireplaces, wood stoves, or portable space heaters.
- Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
- Never use your oven to heat your home.
- Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
- Take inventory of emergency items.
