Dear CERT Members,
I wanted to share with you the incredible work CERT has been doing this past week. Wednesday’s building collapse on East 116 Street and Park Avenue in East Harlem had a major impact on the city. Throughout this response, CERT members have been integral to providing support to first responders and on-site agencies:
- Nine Manhattan 11 CERT members, augmented by surrounding Manhattan and Bronx teams, supported field operations during the day. Duties included traffic control, shelter staffing, and victim assistance. The teams demobilized Wednesday night, March 12.
- One Spanish-speaking CERT member staffed an overnight shelter.
- 25 CERT volunteers, including five bilingual (Spanish) CERT members, assisted with general Resident Service Center operations and language needs during the day shift (1200- 2100 HRS) on Thursday, March 13.
- Eight CERT members (Bronx 1, Manhattan 8, 9, 10N, 11) based out of the Resident Service Center will be helping to escort people into vacated buildings to recover some personal items today, March 14.
Operations will continue throughout the weekend.
As a reminder, please continue to monitor yourself, team members, and those around you. We want to make sure that you have mental health resources available to you. The Disaster Distress Helpline is a great resource and you should feel free to use or share the below numbers:
- 1-800-985-5990
- Text: TalkWithUs to 66746
- TTY for Deaf/Hearing Impaired: 1-800-846-8517
We at OEM are deeply grateful for your support to your community and fellow New Yorkers during such a difficult time.
Sincerely,
Maya R. Milanytch
CERT Program Manager
NYC Office of Emergency Management | 165 Cadman Plaza East | Brooklyn, NY 11201
PHOTO SLIDESHOW FROM THE MARCH 13 RESIDENT SERVICE CENTER GROUP
