Instructional Video is Newest Edition to the Ready New York Preparedness Program

New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Commissioner Joseph Bruno today hosted the premiere of the agency's new Ready New York video. The 11-minute preparedness video is the newest edition to the Ready New York program and uses New York City examples to encourage people to prepare for emergencies. The video was filmed in high definition by NYC TV and stars Karen Duffy, a former MTV host and current volunteer for one of OEM's Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT).

"One of our highest priorities is to educate New Yorkers about the importance of taking simple steps to prepare for emergencies," Commissioner Bruno said. "Ready New York started as a single household preparedness guide and is now an extensive outreach campaign that has reached millions of New Yorkers."

The Ready New York video will be distributed to community groups, houses of worship and businesses.  It will also be screened at presentations and be available on the OEM website.

In addition to Karen Duffy, the video also features Dr. Frank Field, former meteorologist and New York City television personality, Manuel Chea of the Continuity of Operations Planning unit, FDNY Lieutenant Jim Kerley, Leslie Fastenberg, ICE-QUBE's emergency preparedness expert and Kim Teixeira, CERT Team Chief for Community Board 1.

OEM's Ready New York campaign was created in 2003 to educate New Yorkers about the hazards they may face and encourage residents to prepare for all types of emergencies. Since 2003 the program has grown to include publications in as many as 14 languages, public service announcements, an advertising campaign, expanded web content, a speakers' bureau, a reprinting program, corporate partnerships, and extensive community outreach. 

According to OEM's second annual preparedness survey in 2008, more than six in 10 New Yorkers say they are prepared for an emergency, such as a natural disaster, fire, or power outage. The most common reason New Yorkers do not prepare for emergencies is that they have not considered it.

Ready New York guides are available in up to 14 languages including English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Haitian-Creole, Korean, Arabic, Russian Yiddish, Urdu, Japanese, Bengali, French and Italian. Some guides are also available in Braille and recorded on audio tape.