NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, second from right, spent time discussing response strategies with members of the Chapter’s Disaster Planning and Response team, from left, Planning Volunteer Partner Mike Emmerman, Deputy Response Officer Bob Imbornoni, and Chief Response Officer Scott Graham. (Photo: Larry Geiger)

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly reviewed the city's on-going preparations and programs to prevent or diminish the impact of any future terrorist attack at an American Red Cross in Greater New York Leadership Dinner hosted by Ernst & Young.

Addressing Chapter Board Members, senior managers, volunteer partners and other guests, the Commissioner praised the Red Cross for calling attention to the value of preparedness and for providing immediate aid when disaster strikes to residents and first-responders at the scene.

"The enemy of contingency planning is complacency,” Commissioner Kelly said, “the American Red Cross in Greater New York, by asking New Yorkers to get prepared, is challenging that complacency.”  He commended the Red Cross for taking steps to help people get prepared.

Among the steps that the Police Department has taken since 9-11, explained the Commissioner, are the creation of redundant command centers, revised mobilization procedures which actually limit the number of officers who respond to any one incident, better coordination with the fire department, heightened police presence at the Office of Emergency Management, and provision for patrol boroughs to act as independent police departments if communications with central command is cut-off.

“No single organization can manage all this alone,” Commissioner Kelly concluded. “That"s why we plan together with the Red Cross and train together with Red Cross and we will respond together.”

“I’m happy to be here to honor our relationship,” he said in closing his formal remarks.