Chair Feliz opens on public safety importance of reliable 911
Chair Feliz of the Public Safety Committee recognizes committee members and emphasizes that public safety is a core government responsibility. He notes New Yorkers rely on 911 during the most urgent and vulnerable moments of their lives and expect calls to be answered without delay.
Thank you.
Good morning, everyone.
I'm Councilmember Oswald Feliz, Chair of the Committee on Public Safety.
I would like to thank all of today's co-chairs, Chair De La Rosa, Chair Areola, Chair Brewer, for co-chairing this oversight hearing, examining the seven-hour outage that occurred at one of our 911 call centers.
And I want to welcome everyone to today's hearing.
I would also like to recognize members of the Public Safety Committee, Councilmember Justin Sanchez, Councilmember Wong, Areola, and Gutierrez.
Public safety is one of the most important responsibilities of city government.
Every minute of every day, New Yorkers rely on our 911 call system for emergencies.
They call for help from our police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel during some of the most urgent and vulnerable moments of their lives.
When someone calls,
911, they expect that call to be answered and that appropriate resources will be dispatched without delay.
What happened last month at the Bronx 911 call center, a seven-hour outage with very little to no notice to the public is unacceptable, and the city must explain what happened.