Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Mayor's OEM plan 'not good for city'

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 18:51:09 -0500

Mayor's OEM plan 'not good for city'
BY DAN JANISON AND GLENN THRUSH
STAFF WRITERS
March 5, 2004

A vow by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to reshape the city emergency
management office prompted warnings yesterday from some professionals
that his plans could mar agency coordination in big emergencies.

Bloomberg yesterday promoted its change toward "more of a planning
agency" as a boon to emergency procedure in the long run.

"I do intend," he said, "to make it the think-tank for the city on
preparedness."

"It's a ridiculous notion," said former OEM Director Jerome Hauer.
"Bloomberg clearly does not understand public safety.He clearly does not
understand emergency management. And he's taking the city back in time
in a direction no other city is going in."

"This is not good for the city," concurred a former top-ranking Giuliani
administration official who declined to be identified. The city charter
was amended in November, 2001 to upgrade OEM to a full city department.

The department is a hybrid of police, fire and other agencies that
prepares for and coordinates emergency responses to events ranging from
bioterrorism to hurricanes.

Joseph Bruno, a 60-year-old Brooklyn Supreme Court justice appointed
yesterday as the new emergency management director, will move to reduce
certain "day to day responses," Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg said such events are "better handled by other agencies, such
as the Police Department, Fire Department and the Community Assistance
Unit."

One insider predicted Bruno will disband the current field-response unit
in OEM, which was designed to team fire and police and other agencies.

On a related topic, talks have stalled between police and fire agencies
on the matter of protocols defining who takes charge at which emergency
scenes.

This threatens to curb federal aid funds, said Council Public Safety
Committee Chairman Peter Vallone Jr., who is co-sponsoring a bill with
Fire and Criminal Services Committee Chairman Yvette Clarke to mandate
protocols.

Regarding OEM, Vallone said, "The charter doesn't specifically state who
makes final decisions in any situation. Maybe that's something that we
should be looking at.

Many experts have recommended that one agency be placed in charge at any
specific emergency scene."
Bloomberg yesterday also tapped Shaun Donovan, 37, as commissioner of
the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

The former Clinton administration official takes office at a time when
the agency is grappling with the implications of landmark legislation
making requiring more strict lead inspections.

http://www.nynewsday.com/search/ny-nyoem053696037mar05,0,1927892.story

--
    "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL"
  Note The New address
Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1

  "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS"
Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2

  "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP"
     The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security.
Subscribe to WFHSG:  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG

-- 
    "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL"
  Note The New address 
Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1

  "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS"
Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2

  "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP"
     The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security.
Subscribe to WFHSG:  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEXTEL-1/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     [email-masked]

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/