Inside New York City's Sweltering Industrial Heat Zones

Jeffrey Liu endures the oppressive heat inside a warehouse located on a quiet, sunbaked street in one of New York City's hottest neighborhoods. On Monday morning, as he walked nearly half a mile to work, he anticipated the day would be the hottest of the year so far.

Arriving at Ibra Foods Importer & Distributor near the industrial waterway of Newtown Creek in Maspeth, Queens, shortly before 10 a.m., Liu pulled down the brim of his baseball cap emblazoned with 'Thuglife Outlaw' and took his final sips from a small water bottle before heading inside.

“There’s nothing to be done,” said Liu, 26, a resident of Fresh Meadows, Queens. “Look at me — I’m already drenched in sweat, and I’ll just keep sweating all day long.”

After a spring marked by unseasonably cool and wet weather, summer arrived with intensity. Temperatures in Central Park climbed to 96 degrees, while the heat index, factoring in humidity, reached 106 according to official weather data.

Those visiting Central Park at least had the relief of shade in nearby areas.

However, the most extreme heat zones in New York City are found across expansive asphalt surfaces at LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy Airports, as revealed by a heat map from the City Council. Additional smaller heat pockets exist in areas with sparse tree cover, including parts of Jamaica, Queens, and around the large food distribution warehouses in the Bronx’s Hunts Point neighborhood.