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New York City Council
Oversight - Emergency Response in the Rockaways, and Other Geographically Isolated Communities in NYC
Read summaries and jump into the video at the segment start.
Council staff welcomes attendees to the Committee on Fire and Emergency Management, asks that electronics be silenced, directs anyone wishing to fill out an appearance card to the Sergeant at Arms, and instructs the public not to approach the dais. The Chair is then invited to begin.
Chair Joann Ariola introduces herself as chair of the Committee on Fire and Emergency Management and acknowledges Council Member Carmen De La Rosa and Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers. She states the hearing will examine emergency response in the Rockaways and other geographically isolated communities and frames the city's duty to provide prompt emergency services.
Ariola says the hearing will highlight a summer emergency in Far Rockaway in Council Member Brooks-Powers's district, where two people died and families were displaced. She thanks public attendees and administration witnesses, including NYCEM Commissioner Christina Farrell, FDNY EMS Chief Paul Maiano, and Assistant Chief John Sirocco.
Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers thanks the Chair and Speaker for convening the hearing and notes increasing weather events affecting coastal communities. She describes the July 25 incident in Far Rockaway, where two people died and families were displaced while a major Bronx fire also strained resources.
Brooks-Powers praises FDNY and EMTs but worries they must rely on mainland resources to reach the Rockaways. She questions whether Red Cross services are sufficient for displaced families and hopes the hearing will identify gaps that lead to internal reforms or Council legislation.
Chair Ariola calls on Will Hungash to administer the oath. Council staff asks the witnesses to affirm that they will tell the truth and answer honestly to all Council Member questions.
NYCEM Commissioner Christina Farrell introduces herself and her colleagues, Chief of EMS Paul Maiano and Assistant Chief of Fire Operations John Sirocco. She notes it is the final day of National Preparedness Month and says the Emergency Operations Center has been activated for 183 days and the Flash Flood Plan for 90 days so far this year.
Farrell describes the recent nor'easter that brought heavy rain, wind, and flooding to the Rockaways, Arverne, and Howard Beach. She lists NYCEM actions, including tracking the storm for four days, activating the Flash Flood Plan early, sending Notify NYC messages, monitoring flood sensors, and distributing flood barrier and pump kits.
Farrell notes the year's long cold snap and extreme July heat, and reminds the committee that hurricane season continues. She says geographic isolation is central to hurricane evacuation zones, which is why the entire Rockaways Peninsula is classified as Zone 1 along with places like Roosevelt Island, City Island, and Coney Island.
Farrell describes how NYCEM supports residents forced from their homes by fire, flood, or structural issues, often by opening a school or dispatching an MTA bus for sheltering and Red Cross registration. She lists triggers for NYCEM response, including sensitive-location one-alarm fires, two-alarm residential fires, three-alarm fires, fires with two or more fatalities, and fires requiring interagency coordination.
Farrell says the Red Cross monitors public safety communications and responds to fires at one alarm and above, and NYCEM notifies the Red Cross when a fire is likely to displace residents. Displaced residents are registered and placed in a hotel for two nights, then referred to HPD for longer-term shelter case management if eligible.
Farrell describes NYCEM's Strengthening Communities grants for community preparedness networks, noting the Far Rockaway Arverne Nonprofit Coalition has participated since 2021. She also says CERT expanded with a Far Rockaway training that added 39 volunteers, and CERT members are canvassing at-risk neighborhoods through October.
Chair Ariola thanks Farrell for coordinating the nor'easter response and acknowledges Council Members Maloney and Sanchez. She asks whether NYCEM developed guidance under Local Law 60 for safe evacuation before flash flooding, and Farrell describes Red Cross call-downs and overnight safe locations opened in schools during summer flooding.
Ariola asks whether FDNY posted QR codes on vehicles to distribute residential fire emergency response guides under Local Law 134 and what percentage of the fleet is complete. Assistant Chief John Sirocco says FDNY began posting QR codes on fire apparatus over the past year and that all fire-operation vehicles involved in fire response have them.
Council Member Brooks-Powers asks Commissioner Farrell to recount the July 25 Far Rockaway fire and alleged double homicide from the 911 call until the last displaced family had a bed. Farrell says NYCEM did not initially respond, later sent a citywide incident coordinator after outreach from the Council Member's office, and the Red Cross registered and placed residents in hotels that evening.
Brooks-Powers asks how many households and individuals were displaced and where they spent their first night. Farrell says she lacks specific hotel information but understands 22 adults and seven children, representing multiple households, received temporary lodging through the Red Cross; Brooks-Powers notes there were also pets.
Brooks-Powers asks whether NYCEM or City Hall was made aware that the July 25 incident involved a shooting with multiple injuries or deaths. Farrell says one-alarm fires are not routinely deployed to unless in a sensitive location, and Brooks-Powers describes a disconnect between the mayor's press conference and the on-the-ground response felt by residents.
Brooks-Powers describes a mother and five children trapped upstairs during the active crime scene, stepping over blood and bodies, and says the constituent still feels unsupported. She asks what resources exist for trauma and what the city's responsibility is; Farrell says Red Cross can provide mental health counseling but NYCEM usually focuses on utilities and will identify the right follow-up agency.
Brooks-Powers asks what triggers notifications to Red Cross, HPD, the Mayor's Office of Housing Recovery, and DSS after a fire with displacement and who sends them. Farrell explains that NYCEM has limited staffing, that Red Cross notification would normally go through HPD, and that NYCEM makes additional notifications when its citywide incident coordinators respond.
Brooks-Powers says Red Cross could not take certain directives from NYPD because the scene was a crime scene and asks whether communication should run through NYCEM. Farrell explains the HPD-Red Cross contract covers vacates from fires, power outages, and water outages, not primarily police scenes, and says Red Cross housed families using private funding in this case.
Farrell says the city can always communicate better and announces that NYCEM received city tax levy funding in July for 10 additional citywide incident coordinators and five part-time coordinators. She says the added resources will help but does not promise NYCEM can respond to every incident.
Brooks-Powers yields back to Chair Ariola, who asks how FDNY responds when a fire may also involve a crime scene. Sirocco says FDNY responds with caution, requests NYPD simultaneously, and dispatchers notify NYPD when they know there is a shooting or shooter.
Ariola acknowledges Council Member Paladino and NYU students, then asks how FDNY explains geographic disparities in response times in areas like Breezy Point and the Rockaway Peninsula. Sirocco says Rockaways response times are good, with the 4-7 Battalion ranking well, and describes six engines, three trucks, a bushfire unit, water rescue training, summer boat patrols, and must-fill units.
Ariola asks about EMS response. Chief Paul Maiano says EMS response times in the Rockaways are lower than the citywide average, with a station co-located with an engine company housing 10 EMS units, including seven BLS, three ALS, and two hazmat ambulances, plus summer gator units and drone coordination.
Ariola asks for the current EMS headcount and how it has changed. Maiano says EMS is approximately 400 members below headcount, meaning fewer ambulances on the street, but the Central Resource Coordination Center moves ambulances from high-availability areas to low-availability areas to maintain response times.
Ariola describes a 14-year-old cardiac patient at St. Francis Preparatory who showed stroke symptoms on September 28; the nurse and parents called 911 multiple times starting at 8:47 a.m. She says no ambulance responded, and the mother eventually drove the child to the hospital without paramedics.
Maiano calls the situation tragic and says EMS was experiencing a surge of 274 calls in that hour, about 100 above normal. He says an ambulance was dispatched from a distance and arrived at 9:37 a.m., about five minutes after the parents had already driven the child to the hospital.
Ariola asks whether the delay was due to staffing or a dispatcher shortage. Maiano explains that 911 calls initially go to NYPD dispatchers and are transferred to EMS; when no EMS alarm receiving dispatcher is available, NYPD stays on the line and routes the call, while the system continuously searched for an available ambulance.
Ariola asks whether 911 told callers that an ambulance was delayed or gave an estimated wait. Maiano says there is no system in place to advise callers of extended delays.
Ariola asks whether the child was entered as an unknown condition rather than a level one. Maiano confirms it went in as unknown because it did not reach an EMS dispatcher for triage; he says EMS dispatch was adequately staffed with 26 alarm receiving dispatchers, and proper triage likely would have classified it around segment three rather than segment four.
Ariola asks how many people end up in the system without a dispatcher gathering additional information and proper categorization. Maiano says it is difficult to estimate but EMS strives to meet 100% of ambulance requests; Ariola calls the situation a dispatch abyss and says the child's parents drove him in critical condition.
Ariola says EMS is short-staffed after a promotional ceremony removed 25% of the workforce and asks whether FDNY requested mutual aid as it did over July 4th. Maiano says no mutual aid has been requested because the policy requires sustained service below 25% for about 24 hours, and FDNY instead asks in-city volunteer agencies and REMSCO partners for additional ambulances.
Ariola asks whether 274 calls in one hour meets the demand threshold. Maiano says it did for that period and later evened out; Ariola responds that it did not even out for the young man, whose parents are at an ICU bedside.
Ariola asks whether New York State is in a state of emergency for medical response times and EMS staffing. Maiano says New York has retention and headcount issues, and that FDNY leadership cares deeply about EMS and continues working to improve the system.
Ariola asks what steps beyond EMS classes are being taken and says the committee understands the agencies are operating under duress. She argues it is the Council's job to end that duress, calling for a living wage to retain EMS workers so more ambulances can be staffed, and notes the delayed response occurred in central Queens, not only isolated areas.
Chair Ariola notices Public Advocate Jumaane Williams in the room and invites him to make a statement. Williams apologizes for arriving late and thanks the committee for allowing him to read his opening statement mid-hearing.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams thanks the Chair and committee and lists isolated neighborhoods including parts of Staten Island, City Island, Howard Beach, Broad Channel, Red Hook, and the Rockaways. He says these communities face frontline climate exposures, reliance on single bridges or narrow causeways, flooding, power disruptions, and response-time inflation from traffic and staffing shortages.
Williams says MTA and NYCEM pre-stage diesel locomotives, high-water rescue vehicles, and pumps in isolated zones, but these areas are not routinely designated as emergency corridors. He recalls Hurricane Sandy recovery, $14 billion in federal aid, public housing disruptions, and argues the city needs a resilient long-term emergency response strategy that does not depend on federal aid.
Williams says the July 25 emergency showed gaps even beyond climate-related events and attaches himself to calls for higher EMS pay to improve retention. He also says the Rockaways need a trauma hospital and that response times there remain problematic.
Chair Ariola thanks Williams and recognizes Brooks-Powers. Brooks-Powers asks under Local Law 134 how FDNY confirms that residential fire emergency response guides and QR codes are actually distributed, noting residents did not report seeing QR codes; Sirocco says FDNY does targeted outreach and places QR codes on rigs and apparatus.
Brooks-Powers asks Commissioner Farrell what could be done better to provide trauma-informed mental health support to families displaced by the July 25 incident. Farrell says NYCEM is always looking to improve services and will speak with partners, including Red Cross, NYPD, and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, then follow up.
Brooks-Powers asks whether any of the 10 new citywide incident coordinators will be designated for geographically isolated communities like the Rockaways or Staten Island. Farrell says NYCEM borough-deploys coordinators when resources allow, and Brooks-Powers advocates for a dedicated coordinator for Rockaway, Broad Channel, Breezy Point, and Southeast Queens because travel from other parts of Queens is long.
Brooks-Powers says she was deeply disappointed with the Red Cross on July 25, when it left and returned after 11 p.m., partly because it lacked resources and had to travel over an hour from the Bronx. She asks whether the city has a backup to Red Cross or could revisit its contract when Red Cross lacks capacity.
Farrell says NYCEM borough-deploys coordinators based on likely hazards, and during the nor'easter its Queens coordinator worked in Brooks-Powers's neighborhoods. On Red Cross, she says the contract focuses on hotel placement, and when hotel demand outstrips supply, the city can set up congregate shelters in schools or other facilities.
Brooks-Powers says the committee must raise the need for a trauma hospital on the peninsula. She praises local firefighters and EMTs but says since Peninsula Hospital closed, response times have increased and trauma patients must be taken to Cohen's or Jamaica Hospital, making it harder for ambulances to return to the peninsula.
Maiano thanks the Council for supporting EMS and says he hears the committee's concerns. He describes a recent CAD change: when an ambulance leaves the peninsula for another hospital, it is placed in relocation status on the way back and only diverted to high-acuity calls like cardiac arrest, not low-acuity assignments.
Brooks-Powers says when larger incidents occur on the peninsula, resources are pulled from Howard Beach and Springfield Gardens, leaving those communities short. She asks whether staffing is why more personnel cannot be based on the peninsula; Maiano says EMS staffs to average call volume, while Sirocco says FDNY relocates and backfills units during fires.
Brooks-Powers asks what the right number is so the peninsula is covered without feeling stretched. Sirocco says FDNY can handle multi-incident deployments by moving assets from other boroughs and notes that during the storm it added a fifth firefighter to peninsula engines and added a fifth engine on Cross Bay.
Brooks-Powers acknowledges the administration's door-knocking in the Rockaways during the nor'easter but says infrastructure projects need to move faster. She says Rosedale and Brookville Park were badly flooded, requests NYCEM and DEP resources for Rosedale, and asks how much funding FRANK receives and how long its contract lasts.
Farrell says the nor'easter was mostly coastal but acknowledges Rosedale's summer flooding and says she will bring DEP town hall requests back to that agency. She says Strengthening Communities is funded for several years through Hurricane Ida disaster recovery money, with start-up, maintenance, and activation payments to networks like FRANK.
Brooks-Powers says the previous administration committed to updating the Rockaway Peninsula evacuation route, but roads have changed, some have been demapped, development has altered the footprint, signs are missing, and new residents do not know where to go. She asks NYCEM and the Chair what steps are needed to begin updating the route.
Chair Ariola thanks Brooks-Powers for her questions and says she raised powerful issues. She notes Council Member Sanchez had to leave but wanted to thank NYCEM, FDNY, and all agencies for a strong interagency response at 1484 Montgomery.
Ariola asks when EMS last experienced a sustained service level below 25% for over 24 hours. Maiano says it was during COVID, and Ariola says that was a long time ago and she considers the current situation a state of emergency.
Ariola says road designs in Rockaway have changed without notifying firehouses and EMS stations, citing an ambulance station 11 minutes from Scholars Academy and delays reaching emergencies. Maiano says ambulances are dynamic and deployed on cross streets rather than fixed stations, while Sirocco says FDNY works with DOT and local units to review road changes for apparatus access.
Ariola asks whether FDNY works with local firehouses in areas affected by road redesigns. Sirocco confirms that local firehouses are involved in the process.
Ariola says she has no further questions and thanks the entire panel, praising them for being well prepared and never deferring answers. She says the committee's scrutiny is meant to help agencies get resources to save lives and dismisses the witnesses.
Ariola notices Council Member Wong has joined the hearing and asks if he has a question. He apparently declines, and Ariola thanks the panel again before moving toward public testimony.
Ariola opens the hearing for public testimony and reminds attendees that decorum must be observed, the public must remain silent, and the witness table is reserved for testifiers. She explains that speakers have two minutes, may submit written testimony to the Sergeant at Arms or by email within 72 hours, and that audio or video recordings will not be accepted.
Ariola says there are no in-person public speakers yet but one person on Zoom, Chowdhury Hassan Mahmood. She asks if he is available, and the witness indicates he is ready to begin.
Public witness Chaudhuri Mahmood, an FDNY Bureau of Enterprise Technology employee, testifies that the fire and EMS CAD dispatch systems are managed through a $21 million sole-source arrangement with Accenture without competitive bidding or independent quality assurance. He says operational failures were not publicly discussed and asks the committee to require an independent audit and create a protected reporting channel for FDNY technology employees.
Chair Ariola introduces in-person public witness Christopher Leon Johnson. Johnson says he travels to and helps people in Rockaway and calls for more city, state, and federal funding for infrastructure like levees, better Broad Channel line resiliency, and a dedicated OEM unit for Rockaway because it is geographically isolated.
Chair Ariola says the hearing on fire and emergency management is concluded. She thanks all public witnesses and the NYU students for attending, and declares the hearing over.