AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.New York’s Heat Wave Is Brutal. In This Neighborhood, It’s Even Worse.“Heat-vulnerable” parts of the city have few trees, little shade and limited access to air-conditioning. And the risk of death is also higher.Listen · 6:36 min Because the fountains at the playground near his house were not working, Chris Rousseau took his daughter to a park further in Jamaica, Queens. Fortunately, the sprinklers were on.Credit...Ryan Murphy for The New York TimesJuly 2, 2026Updated 2:24 p.m. ETIn a slice of park alongside the Van Wyck Expressway in Jamaica, Queens, Christina Charlie and her 6-year-old daughter sat in the only shade available — a patch of shadow underneath a jungle gym. Ms. Charlie was holding a water gun, and every so often she would spray at her daughter’s forehead, then her own.As a heat wave began to throttle New York City this week, with temperatures expected to reach about 100 degrees on Thursday, the discomfort was not felt evenly across the city. New Yorkers all over are suffering, but some must endure the extreme weather in neighborhoods where the heat not only feels more oppressive but is also more difficult to escape.More than nearly any place in New York, the heat was most acutely felt in this part of Queens; Jamaica is one of the roughly three dozen neighborhoods that public health experts deem extremely vulnerable to heat. It is deficient in nearly all the amenities that provide relief from a heat wave, like leafy parks, tree-lined sidewalks and easy access to air-conditioned spaces. And it is poor, like many other heat-vulnerable communities.As Ms. Charlie and her daughter sweated in their little patch of shade in the park, she said it was still preferable to being at home: The central air in her apartment was shut off on the hottest day of the summer so far. She hadn’t paid the bill.ImageChristina Charlie and Shatira Monique live in the same apartment building in Jamaica with their daughters. Both have had their air-conditioning shut off.Credit...Ryan Murphy for The New York Times“They need some trees or something in this park,” Ms. Charlie, 30, said, between spritzing them both with the squirt gun. “It is hot as hell out here.”Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT