FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Release 07-19
August 8, 2007

NEW YORK CITY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PROVIDES UPDATE ON CITY’S RESPONSE TO TODAY’S SEVERE WEATHER

TO ALLEVIATE TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS, CITY ALLOWS LIVERY CABS TO PICK UP STREET HAILS

The NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is coordinating the City’s response to the severe weather that impacted several neighborhoods earlier today. Streets flooded and trees were downed citywide, especially in the Sunset Park and Bay Ridge areas Brooklyn. OEM, along with several City agencies, including the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit (CAU), the Fire Department (FDNY), the Police Department (NYPD) and the Departments of Environmental Protection (DEP), Buildings (DOB), Homeless Services (DHS), Parks (DPR), Transportation (DOT) Sanitation (DSNY) and Small Business Services (SBS) are operating in Sunset Park and Bay Ridge. They are joined by personnel from the American Red Cross.

Residents should call 311 to report property damage as a result of the storms. Assessment teams from the Department of Buildings are in the area and will determine whether properties are safe to reenter.

The following is a summary of the City’s efforts to quickly respond to this morning’s weather, assess damage and clean and reopen affected areas:

TLC

Due to widespread flooding that continues to disrupt the mass transit system, the City is permitting livery cabs to pick up street hails during the afternoon rush hour today. Group rides are authorized and strongly encouraged for all TLC-licensed vehicles, with the exception of para-transit vehicles.

During today’s afternoon rush hour, the following fare structure will be in affect for all TLC-licensed vehicles, with the exception of para-transit vehicles.
* Yellow medallion taxicabs – $5 per person PLUS Metered Fare split among passengers
* Livery cabs – permitted to pick up street hails, but standard rates apply
* Commuter vans -- permitted to pick up street hails, $5 per person

Information on subway and bus status is available at the MTA’s website, www.mta.info, or by calling 311.

NYPD

FDNY

FDNY currently has more than 125 firefighters and EMS members engaged in emergency response operations citywide following this morning's storm. During and in the hours immediately after the storm, 800 firefighters and EMS members citywide responded to storm-related incidents.

Firefighters have responded to a variety of emergencies, including downed trees, limbs and overhead wires, and have assessed structural damage to more than 40 buildings citywide. Firefighters also responded to numerous reports of flooding and utilized de-watering pumps.

At the height of the storm, call volume soared for both FDNY services, particularly in Brooklyn - where more than 240 emergency calls were answered in the two-hour period of 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

DOB

Twenty-one inspectors and engineers from the Buildings Department are working with the Fire Department to conduct rapid assessments of buildings in the affected area.

Buildings that sustained serious structural damage making it unsafe to enter are being vacated and tagged with red placards for easy identification.

Buildings in which a clearly unsafe condition does not exist, but the type of damage prevents occupancy are being tagged with yellow placards. These buildings will be further assessed for damage by a Buildings Department engineer by the end of the day. Buildings tagged with yellow placards have areas restricted from use. The restricted areas are noted on the yellow placards.  

So far, the Buildings Department has detected over 70 buildings that sustained damage from last night’s storm.

The Buildings Department has vacated and tagged approximately 20 buildings with red tags, affecting approximately 32 families. As a safety precaution, these buildings will remain vacated until the Buildings Department deems them safe to re-enter. The Buildings Department is reaching out to the homeowners to advise them of the vacate orders and instruct landlords to notify tenants.

The Buildings Department is advising homeowners that red placards do not automatically mean that the property has been condemned or will require demolition. The red placards are used as a safety precaution to denote buildings vacated.

The Buildings Department is advising New Yorkers who are concerned their buildings may have sustained damage from last night’s storm to call 311. If residents see an emergency, call 911. Buildings inspectors and engineers are standing by to provide assistance to any New Yorker who suspects their buildings sustained damage from the storm.

SBS

The Department of Small Business Services canvassed businesses in Brooklyn and Queens today and its Business Outreach Team will be on site beginning tomorrow to help businesses reopen, navigate the insurance claim process and access government agencies. SBS will be offering small emergency grants for storefront improvement to severely impacted businesses in the area. For more information, businesses should call 311 and ask for SBS’ Business Outreach Team.

DHS

The Department of Homeless Services is working with the American Red Cross to provide air-conditioned shelter for approximately 50 individuals who were displaced by this morning’s storms. Food, water and baby supplies are being provided.

DEP

The Department of Environmental Protection quickly responded to several areas throughout the City that were experiencing street flooding. While floodwaters have mostly receded, DEP continues to clear sewer grates and catch basins. DEP has 300 employees responding to conditions citywide, assisted by 12 basin-cleaning machines and 15 flusher trucks.

DPR

The Parks Department is removing hundreds of fallen trees and tree limbs from public and private property. Numerous pieces of heavy equipment and Parks forestry personnel have been dispatched to affected areas. 
     
Residents who need to have fallen trees, limbs, or other wood removed from their property are asked to call 311. All wood must be removed by Parks personnel to contain the spread of the Asian Long Horned Beetle.

DSNY

The Department of Sanitation has approximately 150 workers assigned to cleanup operations citywide and is working closely with Parks to ensure downed trees are quickly removed. DSNY is prioritizing removal of debris in the affected area.

DOT

The Department of Transportation has dispatched over a dozen pieces of heavy equipment and over a dozen inspection teams to assess and repair damages citywide.  Traffic signals damaged by the high winds associated with the storm are being repaired.  Clean-up crews will work through the night and the day tomorrow to clear major thoroughfares of debris.

CAU

The Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit has done outreach to elected officials, community boards and religious congregations throughout the Sunset Park and Bay Ridge area. CAU personnel are on scene assisting affected residents. Spanish and Chinese translators are available.

311

3-1-1 has received more than 87,000 as of 3pm today, which is about four times as many calls as is normal during this time period

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CONTACT:    Andrew Troisi      718-422-4888