On a sidewalk in Queens, several men sat in the recesses of shallow doorways, blanketing themselves with blue tarps and flattened cardboard boxes to keep out the cold as the snowfall grew heavier.
One of the men, Elioth Gonzalez, 41, a former forklift operator who lost his job eight years ago, said this was the second storm in a month that he and his friends had weathered on 103rd Street near Corona Avenue. He said they would prefer sitting outside in blizzard conditions to spending the night in a city shelter.
“We’re OK here,” Mr. Gonzalez said as the snow pattered against his lap. “We know each other. We’re safe.”
On Saturday, State Senator Jessica Ramos, whose district includes the neighborhood, visited Mr. Gonzalez, whom she had met last month. She said she had brought him and other homeless New Yorkers food, blankets, socks and information about city-run warming centers.
But when she talked to them about waiting out the storm indoors, most said they would rather stay on the streets.
“All of them didn’t think the snowstorm would be a big deal,” Ms. Ramos said. “I’m really scared for them this weekend.”
Mr. Gonzalez said that no city outreach workers had come to check on his group this week. A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeless Services said an outreach team was now being dispatched to the block where Mr. Gonzalez and his group were weathering the storm. She urged New Yorkers to call 311 if they see an encampment or other person on the streets in need.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s approach to homelessness came under scrutiny after several people, some of whom were homeless, died after exposure to frigid temperatures during an extended cold snap this winter. As the death toll mounted, the city stepped up its outreach efforts to encourage people to come indoors, including by opening additional single-room shelter units to appeal to people who are resistant to traditional congregate shelters.
After at least 20 people died during the cold snap, Mr. Mamdani said last week that the city would soon restart sweeping homeless encampments, ending a pause that he had instituted after expressing skepticism about the approach. The mayor said the sweeps would by led by the Department of Homeless Services rather than the police, and would come only after seven consecutive days of outreach aimed at moving people into shelters and longer-term housing.
About half a mile away, at a playground in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, three men huddled inside a tent where a group has been living on and off for several months.
As they tried to stay warm, a group of Parks Department officers walked over to check on the men, as the officers said they had done daily since they heard about the incoming storm.
One of the officers leaned in and told them about the warming centers. He said the men should not hesitate to ask for help, and told them to be safe.
As the officers continued on their patrol, one of the men, Juan Mendez, 42, opened a flap in the tent.
“They know us,” Mr. Mendez said in Spanish. “They just asked us if we were OK.”
But when asked in Spanish if he had understood the guidance about the warming centers, which had been given in English, he said, “I’ve never heard of those.”
Anything is better than a shelter, Mr. Mendez said. Even a snowstorm.
“We like our freedom,” Mr. Mendez said. In a shelter, he said, “you can’t come and go when you want. We’re fine here.”
