Brooks-Powers criticizes Red Cross response and asks about backup capacity
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.
And going back to Red Cross, because I will say I was deeply disappointed with the Red Cross that day.
And that was not the first time in a moment of crisis.
And I know that they are contract bound in some instances.
So really just wanting to know.
if an agreement could be put in place, whether it's through NISM or HPD, when Red Cross does not have the bandwidth and capacity, who then comes in?
Because when we called that night to have them come back, because you're right, they came earlier, they left, they didn't really do any triage, but they did when they came back after 11 p.m.
That night.
And the reason it came so late was, one, the fire was going on.
They had no more resources to send to us.
And then geographically, it takes over an hour to get from the part of the Bronx they were to the part of Far Rockaway they needed to get to.
And so...
Does the city currently have a backup to the Red Cross, or is this something we could explore to having a backup or revisiting what their contract entails?