20-YR-OLD JABBAR GIBSON RESCUES 70 VICTIMS BY DRIVING THEM 315 MILES TO HOUSTON TEXAS  WHILE OVER 600 SCHOOL BUSES WERE IGNORED BY LA GOVERNOR BLANCO & NO MAYOR NAGIN |
Posted on 09/04/2005 7:22:25 PM PDT by 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."
Smart money says Bloomie stays in office, but my gut has consistently said he is a goner. I was surprised he won in 2001, actually. Bloomie had enjoyed commanding leads in the polls but something just tells me Ferrer is the man to beat.
Wait and see.
"Somehow," CBS 60 Minutes forgot to ask him about the forgotten buses.
There are TONS of Puerto Ricans constantly moving to NY. The population explosion is quite amazing actually. Ferrer will obviously benefit from this but how easy is it for a Commonwealth Puerto Rican to establish residency here in NY? I suspect it is very easy.
The explosion of Dominicans on the other hand is not likely to lead to more Ferrer votes as they are from a foreign country... or that's what logic would tell you...
It would be nice if we could strip him of the Republican label, much like a desserters strips were stripped off their uniforms in the old days.....
susie
You could be right about dems, but they sure seem to stick to the party line WAY more tightly than repubs do.
susie
Yep, but extinction does not happen overnight.
Bloomie is out of place as mayor and doesn't have much to show for his run. He is uninspiring and has the demeanor of a boss that nobody likes but who thinks his people love him.
He is a total zero and in my last vote in nyc (2001), I couldn't bring myself to vote for him and voted for Green. Believe me, that was tough!
I can't think of any constituency he has, and he only won election by 33,000+ votes, benefitting from Rudy's post-911 halo a bit. Green won 3 borons (manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx), and Bloomie won Queens and SI big. I just don't see that dynamic in play in 2005. Wait and see.
CBS = Communist Broadcasting Slugs.
I hope the Green vote was a protest vote against the NY Republican party. Sort of like my vote for Schumer in the last election- and believe me I showered after that one.
20-YR-OLD JABBAR GIBSON RESCUES 70 VICTIMS BY DRIVING THEM 315 MILES TO HOUSTON TEXAS WHILE OVER 600 SCHOOL BUSES WERE IGNORED BY LA GOVERNOR BLANCO & NO MAYOR NAGIN |
he coulda said fields... 8^)
Frickin hillarious!
Actually my vote was borderline sincere and borderline bitter.
Bloomie was clearly a clown. While I am a GOPer since I turned 18, I won't just vote for any Republican. I need to have some confidence in them, even if I don't agree with them 100% (or even 75%). Bloomie just didn't pass that test - he comes across to me as a very small, weak man. Not a good leader. I also figured he would be feuding with the rest of the city government, and I think that pretty much is what happened.
Green is a clown and a poor choice for Mayor, but at least I felt he was sincere and would work better with the other components of the city government. Push came to shove, Green was actually a better choice, as astonishing as it sounds.
Also, I was so alienated from nyc that I figured a fitting send-off to my hometown. I was flipping off the city. They deserved it. I figure Ferrer is what nyc deserves. I hope they get it.
e-mail the radio station, maybe they'd like to know the truth -- like Bloomberg doesn't know his butt from a hole in the ground.
info@wins.com
Stick it, Mayor. The only appropriate thing you did during this entire disaster was to put *YOUR FAMILY* on a helicopter Friday night. That was more than 36 hours before you were forced to ask NO citizens to leave on Sunday morning.
just damn Travis... that one'll leave a mark!!!
Bloomingidiot Ping!
Man, that really gets the point across.
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