Statement of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg

“I want to thank President Obama and Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank for choosing Deputy Chief Charles Dowd of the NYPD to serve on the Board of Directors of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). The terrorist attacks of September 11th demonstrated that first responders must have the tools to communicate effectively, and a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission was to increase the dedication of radio spectrum for public safety purposes. This initiative was a top legislative priority for our Administration, and Deputy Chief Dowd has been critical to its success, both on the ground in New York City, and in his many appearances before Congress and work with the Federal Communications Commission. In addition, the City was a major participant in the Public Safety Alliance, a coalition that brought together major public safety organizations across the country to help ensure the passage of D Block legislation in February 2012.

“In New York City, we’ve worked to make interoperability of emergency communications a reality and we now have seamless, advanced response-level emergency communications between police, fire and other emergency personnel. But our efforts have been limited to the local level and the program will provide first responders across the country with the ability to communicate directly, share information, and coordinate a fast, effective response to any kind of public emergency. The need for local agencies to control the deployment of those technologies throughout the country will be an integral part of the new system, and Deputy Chief Dowd will represent the needs of local law enforcement on the FirstNet Board. New York City’s leadership on this issue will continue with this appointment.”

Statement of Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly

“It's a testament to his expertise and the NYPD's leadership in this important field that Chief Dowd was selected to serve on the board. Issues of great consequence to police departments and other first responders need to be represented on this panel. There's none better than Chief Dowd to represent us.”