December 2014
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BOMA/NY's Preparedness Chair Testifies Before City Council on Terrorism Planning and NYC's Readiness

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BOMA/NY Preparedness Committee Chair Louis Trimboli, RPA/FMA/LEED AP represented BOMA/NY on Nov. 12, giving testimony to the New York City Council and two related committees charged with "Oversight — Examining New York City’s Emergency Planning and Preparedness for Terrorist Attacks."

Lou informed those assembled about the role BOMA/NY has played since 9/11 in working with first responders to develop Local Law 26, revise codes, develop training and licensing requirements, and working with first responders to train building teams. He also reported that BOMA/NY maintains a team 24/7 that is trained to handle responsibilities involving OEM’s Emergency Operations Center.

"But the key to success," Lou said in his testimony, "is the work that is done by the City agencies," and cited in particular the excellent work done by the FDNY’s Counter Terrorism Unit, NYPD Shield and the OEM’s Private/Public Initiative Unit. The FDNY and NYPD Shield Units supply critical data and information — including NYPD Shield’s assessment of world events and their local implications — which both groups offer alongside exercises and a host of training classes, including specialized areas vital to building team instruction, he advised.

OEM, which has provided BOMA/NY with a seat in its Emergency Operations Center since it first opened in the former World Trade Center in the late 1990’s, continues to provide training and "an unending stream of critical information to assist and help us navigate through numerous neighborhood and citywide events." They were also essential to developing the BOMA/NY committee he was representing that day, Trimboli added. And the cooperation has not stopped there, he told the elected officials; with OEM’s help, BOMA/NY is spearheading a regional Real Estate Industry Preparedness Committee for the Mid-Atlantic region.

"It’s critical that you understand the vital role that this first responder community plays in protecting New Yorkers, and that you continue to properly fund and staff their agencies," he said in his concluding remarks, "so that they may continue in their role of actively working with the private sector."