NCJ Number
197755
Date Published
June 2002
Length
34 pages
Annotation
Focusing on Long Island and New York City emergency management, post-September 11, 2001, this report details public safety recommendations presented at a conference in May 2002.
Abstract
From May 20 to May 22, 2002, New York City hosted a conference entitled “LI NYC Emergency Management” in order to address emergency management and public safety professionals’ concerns post-September 11, 2001. This report presents summaries of each of the conference sessions attended by the Public Safety Wireless Network (PSWN) Program support staff. On the first day of the conference, emergency management and public safety professionals discussed New York City’s and New York State’s responses to the September 11th incident at the World Trade Center in New York City, the reestablishment of the New York City Emergency Operations Center following its destruction on September 11th, and the initial responses of New York City’s fire and police departments and the Port Authority. The second day of the conference included a session focusing on the priorities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for improving first response capabilities in the wake of September 11th and a session addressing the role and function of FEMA and the Urban Search and Rescue Team. Challenges of logistics management at the World Trade Center for the rescue and recovery phases, complications involving managing donations sent to New York City, and plans for assessing and organizing the demolition and debris removal at the World Trade Center were also discussed on day two. The second day of the conference concluded with a session focusing on the role played by the New York City Department of Buildings in assessing safe reoccupation, remarks by Dan Rather on the events of September 11, and their impact on America, and sessions on the issues of the restoration of utilities and communication to lower Manhattan, managing the media, and insuring business continuity. On the last day of the conference, participants heard from former Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, were given an overview of the role of the New York State Office of Public Security, heard the Port Authority’s perceptions on the World Trade Center incident, and were given a statement from a representative of the Office of Homeland Security, outlining the Office’s current priorities.