This week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed City Councilman Chaim Deutsch’s bill, Intro 1311, into law. Intro 1311 mandates the NYC Department of Transportation to provide advance notice of street closures to the NYPD and the FDNY.

When a police officer, firefighter, or emergency medical provider is responding to a 911 call, every second counts. When they are confronted by an unanticipated street closure, it can add precious minutes to their response time. Deutsch’s bill will fight this by ensuring that police, medics, and firefighters are given two days warning before a full street closure. This will offer them the opportunity to prepare routes in advance, and avoid areas with anticipated closures and congestion.

“With the signing of Intro 1311, we have taken another step towards ensuring that our first responders are able to quickly answer emergency calls. An immediate response is critical in these situations – an injury could be exacerbated, a fire could spread, or a volatile situation could escalate if emergency services do not make it to the scene expeditiously,” said Councilman Chaim Deutsch. “My bill will require the DOT to coordinate with emergency services, so that necessary street work can be completed without impeding emergency response time.”

(YWN Headquarters – NYC)