Thompson tells Coney Island city must do better job preparing for emergencies
The city needs to do a better job of preparing and responding to natural disasters, former comptroller Bill Thompson said after taking a tour of areas of Coney Island damaged by Superstorm Sandy.
During a visit to a Coney Island senior center on June 13, Thompson, one of the six candidates running in the Democratic Party Primary for mayor in September, outlined a series of steps he said would help prepare the city for the next natural disaster or terrorist attack.
Thompson said that if elected mayor, he would create a new post of deputy mayor for Infrastructure and Construction. The deputy mayor would be in charge of converting billions of dollars in post-Sandy federal aid into long-term city planning to upgrade power, sewage and telecommunication systems.
“We must plan – and act – today to prepare for tomorrow,” Thompson said. “We cannot secure New York’s promise of opportunity if some families and communities are left fending for themselves when disaster strikes,” he said.