Mayor: Feds Failed On Katrina Response (Bloomberg)

1010 WINS AM ^ | 9/4/05 | 1010 WINS

[chet_in_ny]

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday that the federal government's handling of Hurricane Katrina has been "inadequate," and said more aid, including police officers and firefighters, was en route to Louisiana.

The Republican mayor, who usually treads carefully when it comes to commenting on the Bush administration, told reporters that the president himself was aware of the government's failings.

"It would appear, and I think the president acknowledged, that the federal government's response has been inadequate," Bloomberg told reporters at City Hall.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said 150 police officers, plus support vehicles, were to leave for the region Monday, in addition to 172 officers sent on Saturday. The mayor said some police officers will be federalized, which gives them the same powers as local authorities "to provide much needed law enforcement to keep people safe in and around New Orleans."

Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Sunday requested 300 New York firefighters. They were to leave Monday to help fight fires and search for survivors. He said hundreds of firefighters had already volunteered before they were asked.

"We received many inquiries from our people about what they could do and could they volunteer," Scoppetta said.

The new wave of rescue workers joins an urban search and rescue team of police, firefighters and city emergency personnel already sent to the South, plus three Fire Department chiefs highly trained in disaster management.

Transit workers and buses were also dispatched to help move survivors from New Orleans to Dallas and Little Rock, Ark.

Bloomberg, who was elected to his first term less than two months after the Sept. 11 attack as fires still raged in the World Trade Center ruins, said New York officials have much to offer — not only in aid, but also experience.

"Some things they probably haven't thought about, but they're things that we know you might need," he said.

One lesson New York has learned, he said, is that officials should be tending to victims at the same time as they are collecting information about the disaster, and not afterward. Those who respond to disasters should be well-trained and able to respond immediately based on what they encounter, he said.

Bloomberg said he has reached out to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, but has not been able to get in touch. He did speak with Mayor Bill White of Houston, where thousands of refugees are being sent.

Bloomberg said he is confident in New York City's disaster preparedness because of "highly motivated, highly skilled people that cooperate, that practice and that have the communications and tranportation facilities that they will need."

"New York's level of sophistication in terms of planning and the ability to deal with crises I think is excellent, and we're always trying to make it better."

[sheik yerbouty]

He's a little man with little brains.

[chet_in_ny]

He did and that's why I said it was quote manipulation by the Radio Station 1010 WINS. Some reporter got him to agree with a statement by Bush early on and they title the article as such.

[hiredhand]

It's actually got it's own thread...posted a couple of days ago. But I can NOT remember where it is. So I've been posting the link to as many threads as I can which are applicable. :-)

[RGSpincich]

Bush himself said the same thing, didn't he?

No. Bush said the response by government to the storm was slow. He was speaking of local government. Feds were at the ready since August 27.

[HitmanLV]

I have no affection for NYC. I was born, raised, and lived in downtown manhattan for 33+ years. I know The Big Apple, and it deserves Fernando Ferrer! :-)

[bvw]

Right, it's spin of the headlines. I do not see in that article Bloomie saying "failed" or "failure" -- he just repeats Bush's own phrase "inadequate response". That is not a failure. Bush meant the response can be improved, that as reports came out more of a response earlier would have been helpful. A forward-looking committment to action by Bush, not a backward-looking casting of blame.

[js1138]

In a few weeks the troops working their asses off in NOLA asnd Mississippi will be heading home, and will have some choice words for the people who said they screwed up.

[chet_in_ny]

And on cue, the Slimes reports for duty:

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=53281

[jennyjenny]

Excellent article. Thanks for linking it.

[HitmanLV]

Thanks! Even they can't muster strong support for Ferrer. Yet, I still figure he is the favorite to win in Nov. Wait and see!

[jennyjenny]

I thought what Bush said was the response was adequate, but the results were not.

[LowNslow]

New Orleans Hurricane Evacuation Plan on city website calls for mandatory evacuation to begin 72hrs prior to hurricane arrival. Plan includes use of school and city buses, and other public vehicles to evacuate those without transportation.

Mayor call for evacuation 18 hrs before Hurricane Katrina hit, but only after Hurricane Center and White House pleaded for action.

Why did Mayor not have families of police and other emergency service personnel evacuated to safe locations.
Hard to get people to report and stay on duty when family is in danger.

From my past experience, it takes Guard 48-72 hours to get completely into the action. Why did the LA Gov not have a majority of Guard called up and ready to move out before cat 5 Hurricane Katrina hit.

[redstate38]

Chet, you are right. But I would go further. I think Bush was talking about the state and Local response, and that the Feds were coming to clean it up.

Here is the what the President said, exactly:
"A lot of people are working hard to help those who have been affected, and I want to thank the people for their efforts. The results are not acceptable. I'm headed down there right now. I'm looking forward to talking to the people on the ground. I want to assure the people of the affected areas and this country that we'll deploy the assets necessary to get the situation under control, to get the help to the people who have been affected, and that we're beginning long-term planning to help those who have been displaced, as well as long-term planning to help rebuild the communities that have been affected."

Im In Long Island ( Stinkin Dinkins drove me out of Queens)
Bloomsperm is as Liberal as the day is long.

[Travis McGee]

I hope that sooner or later the MSM discovers that New Orleans did have a written emergency plan to cover the evacuation of the poor, but that the idiot mayor of New Orleans ignored it, and allowed the evacuation buses to be ruined by the flood, forgotten.

The city leaders had at least two full days to use these hundreds of buses to evac the poor, exactly as their own emergency management plan called for.

Here's the southeast Louisiana evac plan supplement, most recently revised in 2000. Go to page 13, read paragraph 5. It states:

5. The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating.

[hiredhand]

You're welcome. :-)

[planekT]

"It would appear, and I think the president acknowledged, that the federal government's response has been inadequate,"

Inadequate? Compared to the non-response of the Governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans (except to lay blame anywhere but their own feet) this is a compliment.

[Soul Seeker]

Bloomberg is not a Republican, not even akin to Hagel, Chafee, or Spectre. Bloomberg is a Democrat that New York Republicans allowed to invade their primaries because the Dem field was too crowded to break through. He isn't one of ours even in the most Liberal of senses.

[patriciaruth]

From NOLA website:

Nagin singled out Gov. Kathleen Blanco for criticism,
saying that the governor had asked for 24 hours to
think over a decision when time was a luxury that no
one, especially refugees, had.

“When the president and the governor got here, I said,
'Mr. President, Madame Governor, you two have to get
in synch. If you don't, more people are going to die.”

Blanco and Bush met privately at his insistence, Nagin
said, after which Bush came out and told Nagin that he
had given Blanco two options, and she requested a full
day to decide.

“It would have been great if we could have walked off
Air Force One and told the world we had it all worked
out,” Nagin said. “It didn't happen, and more people
died.”

[chet_in_ny]

Boy, that scares me. Miller scares me more. He has lispy-voiced foot soldiers that storm apartment buildings (including mine).

[quantim]

I have noticed that dems don't tend to eat their own,

Not true as you must know.  However, parasites when feeding tend to clean up and consume from the bottom up and the job really never gets done.