Bank Fire Prompts Hearing On Informing City Residents

When a fire broke out in the former Deutsche Bank building near ground zero last month, many residents of Lower Manhattan peered out their windows, stumbled into the streets, and frantically called friends in search of information about the blaze.

A City Council hearing today will examine the way in which nearby residents were notified about the fire. Lawmakers are expected to discuss establishing effective emergency communication plans so New Yorkers can be better informed during future catastrophes.

The vice chairwoman of Community Board 1 in Lower Manhattan, Catherine McVay Hughes, said that when the fire was burning, people who live and work near ground zero had no way of getting answers to basic questions.

"Should you stay in place? Should you leave? Should you close your windows?" she asked. "People are very concerned about this, downtown."

Council Member Gale Brewer, a Democrat of the Upper West Side who is chairwoman of the Technology in Government Committee, said other cities have plans in place to reach residents during an emergency, such as recorded messages that are sent to landline telephones.

"This would have been so helpful," she said, adding that, depending on the situation, residents could have been told to turn their air-conditioners on or off, and whether they needed to be concerned about asbestos in the air. "If I lived in an area like that, I would love to have that information."

The use of alarms, e-mail, and text messages to communicate during an emergency also will be discussed at the hearing. Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler is scheduled to testify and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is planning to attend.

After the subway flooding in August, lawmakers called on the Metropolitan Transit Authority to install cell phone service on the subway's underground platforms so that riders could be informed about service problems via mobile phones.