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, i
ncluding 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."
BOMA/NY
http://www.bomany.org/