Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams hosted a forum on emergency preparedness and hurricane readiness with the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Commissioner Joseph Esposito in the courtroom of Brooklyn Borough Hall. Along with representatives from the NYPD and FDNY, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), the American Red Cross, Con Edison, and National Grid, the group discussed the plans in place with city agencies as well as the procedures for citizens to follow during a natural disaster, such as Superstorm Sandy, or in man-made catastrophes, such as the attacks on September 11, 2001.

“Emergency preparedness is more than natural disasters, it’s also about man-made disasters,” said Borough President Adams. “With the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th, there’s a wealth of information that can be utilized from that experience. Disasters have such an awesome strain on city agencies, so it is of the utmost importance that we prepare ourselves as individual citizens for when disaster strikes. Emergency preparedness is a coordinated effort of public and private organizations to meet the needs of our citizens.”

“Our motto at OEM is that it’s better to say, ‘I know what to do,’ rather than, ‘What do I do?’ and that’s what this forum is all about,” said Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito. “The mission of OEM is to make sure that we’re ready and that’s what I’ve set out to do; we want to establish a plan for when disaster strikes and make sure that everyday people in the neighborhood knows what the plan is by sharing them with the public at the borough level. When we do our job at OEM, we’ll have prepared you for any type of disaster whether man-made or natural, which is what the job is about.”

“Preparing for an emergency or disaster is a team effort, and it takes effort from everyone from FEMA to National Grid,” said Council Member David Greenfield. “Working together, we are more prepared than ever. When there’s an emergency, things are tough, so we need to work together in weeks or months in advance so that when disaster strikes, we are ready to answer the call to action.”

Audience members of the forum were given emergency preparedness bags with useful supplies and a list of helpful tips to follow during an emergency. Also in attendance with were OEM Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Rachel Sulaymanov, Chief Gerald Nelson of Patrol Borough Brooklyn North, Chief Kenneth Corey of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, Chief James Lenard and Division Chief Fred Villani of the FDNY, Garfield Richards of the Disaster Action Team Captain at the American Red Cross, FEMA Region II Representative Iris Espenhart, National Grid representatives Joseph Gillard and Kathleen Murray and Rabbi Abe Friedman, who serves as the Intergovernmental Director for the Borough President.

(YWN Desk – NYC)