Sometimes someone somewhere has to point out something everyone somewhat suspects but no one wants to say. So, I will say it.
There is a point at which the Reverse 911 service is no longer the most efficient way to communicate vital information to those who need it and beyond that is another point at which the continued use of a broadcast system to communicate with a tiny fraction of the public is no longer about emergency response and everything about politics.
In his most recent robo-call, Mayor Bramson closed with an apology:
Lastly, I would like to apologize for the frequency of our automated calls. We recognize that these messages are intrusive for those who have full electrical service, but we have no other means of communicating quickly with residents who need information, and we ask for your understanding.
According to this fifth call, the Mayor’s message intended for people in 1,100 residences but he used a system that calls everyone on the list and the vast majority of the people on the list have power. Even for the people who have power, they are communicating with Con Ed not City Hall. Yesterday, at the City Council meeting, both the Mayor and City Manager acknowledged that they had no way of knowing how many of the residents without power were getting the messages because…they are without power. Despite this they continue to make calls even though the information is on the web, in the news and available via Con Ed. It would seem at this point, 5 days after homes began to lose power, that people would have made arrangements for a place to stay and figured out the Con Ed had crews in the area and was giving away ice at City Hall.
So, what do you think?
Is this a matter of nit-picking as the Mayor grapples with the aftermath of a storm which did a large amount of damage around the City? Or, is the Mayor abusing an emergency response system to position himself for the upcoming 2011 Mayoral election.
Politics 101
I refrained from comment to allow all sides to weigh in and the reality is this was the unofficial start of Bramson’s re-election campaign. Think about it, as Bruce points out three years ago homes were flooded by a hundred year storm. Why were there no robo calls then? Bramson was entrenched, the tax-cap was lifted and tax increases were the accepted norm. No reason to leave the family and man the phones at the emergency center because things were hunky dory. Fast forward to today; Simone project DEAD; Echo Bay project STALLED; New Roc expansion on LIFE SUPPORT; Le Count/Andersen received LAST RIGHTS (13 amendments) and M-Square received IDA abatements but was never built because no bank would approve financing. With the national Dems in the crapper over healthcare, Bramson will take no chances on fumbling his re-election bid. New Rochelle has a city manager form of government it should have been Chuck Strome doing the robo-calls period. Bramson is a part-time mayor commanding full-time salary & benefits with no officially designated duties other than ceremonial duties. Noam has positioned himself to jump to any vacant position should one arise but is leaving no stone unturned to lock up his fall back position of mayor.
Robo Calls
Anthony,
The argument aside and correct me if I am mistaken, but in terms of the reverse 911 service, I do not think it was in effect 3 years ago.
But we should mandate granite counter tops!!!! Just kidding.
New Rochelle News and Views Radio Program
Thursday Nights at 8pm
WVOX 1460 am or http://www.wvox.com
Reverse 911 adopted in the 2007 Budget
It was adopted 3-years ago in the 2007 budget. Here’s the link to Mayor Bramson’s webpage announcing it http://noambramson.org/2006/12/20/
Money was allocated but Program not in effect
The money was allocated but the program was not in effct yet. No provider nor contract had been choosen by April 15, 2007.
As for the content of the calls they have to be a quicker. Get the info out up front. Let me know right away oif this pertains to me or not
New Rochelle News and Views Radio Program
Thursday Nights at 8pm
WVOX 1460 am or http://www.wvox.com
911 calls
i don’t think this is that big of a deal. There are probably better systems, but I don’t see the sense of being overly cynical about method or motivation.
The fact of him being a part-time mayor is really irrelevant to this and probably all other issues. He has created a fact and a decade or so ago, so did the voters who voted down a strong mayor proposition. If people feel so strongly, they should work to get it back on the ballot in November. I for one, would prefer a strong mayor — but it is what it is until and if it changes.
this might be the best debate I have seen on the blog. Generally, someone jumps in to take issue with a blogger and not with the blog. Hopefully, we will see more of this in the future.
warren gross
I’ll Telll You What I Think
I think that the gravest mistake a government can make is not giving their citizens information. Too much at times is better than none at all. As a matter of fact it is the city government’s responsibility.
Mayor Bramson was elected by the people and whether you call him part time Mayor or not he is still the voice people will listen to. He is the elected leader of our community. Make no mistake he would also be the first person to be criticized if the citizens felt that they were not getting enough information from the city.
Listening to five recorded messages from the Mayor about emergency preparations is the absolute smallest inconvenience I will ever have to handle knowing that 1,100 homes are still without electricity. For all the “fear” it brings there is also a reassurance that the city knows what is going on. Think back 3 years ago to April 15 and ask yourself if you felt more connected last Saturday that at that time when we just had 7 inches of rain and no wind damage.
Let’s have this debate if Mayor Bramson starts using the robo call to tell me that there will be no garbage pick up on a Monday holiday. This was and is an emergency situation and call me naive ( I am not) but I do not see this as a pre campaign vehicle since we are approximately 19 months out from the next election.
New Rochelle News and Views Radio Program
Thursday Nights at 8pm
WVOX 1460 am or http://www.wvox.com
The thing about the
The thing about the reverse-911 calls is that you can’t receive them if the the power is off so they’re basically useless in a real emergency. My family had no idea Con Ed was giving out free ice at city hall until someone told us. Of course that fact was in the reverse-911 call I received after my power was back on, but by then I didn’t need the information so the whole thing seems like political grandstanding. It would have been nice if the police had used there loud speakers to inform residents, but I guess that would have made too much sense.
The Part Time Mayor
The Part Time Mayor certainly plays the game well although the longer he plays his game the shorter his shelf life will be for another term. I believe his body of work will bring him down.
He has been a devisive, inept Mayor and the results can be seen in Bricks and Mortar or maybe shall I say Tax Abatements. Never has any mayor sold the Citizens and Tax payers down the river to this level. He made his bed with the likes of Cappelli and Forest City. Look at where we are at. I certainly hope my fellow residents put an end to this.
It’s All About Political Survival
As with most politicians, this is about the time in their term where everything they do is a result of a reelection strategy rather than concern for the duties of their office. The State of the City is another perfect example. With his numbers fading, the mayor does a complete reversal in his stand on development as a finakl acknowledgement to a failed policy, and then brings Davids Island into play as a feeble attempt to grandstand his “big picture” for New Rochelle. Can’t you just hear the voters swaying, or is it too little too late?
Ditto
All of these calls were the responsibility of the City manager NOT the part-time Mayor. The City Manager could have provided meaningful and specific information that the Mayor didn’t and is incapable of. This was a carefully crafted political tactic by the Mayor. I know for many residents that had power, these calls were annoying and frightening particularly for many senior citizens. Think of the message: It did not differ from the first, the second, the third, the fourth and fifth.
Annoying? Frightening?
I envy anyone who has such an annoyance-free life that a few phone calls spin them into a rage. The damage from this storm rivals anything seen here in countless years. And now phone calls are frightening? Give me a break. So, when a phone rings with Mayor Bramson behind it, it’s frightening? The storm was frightening. If they made it through that, I suspect they can handle a few phone calls.