• NYC Emergency Management's Situation Room is Activated in support of the ongoing heat emergency.
  • Flash Flood Plan is Activated as of 1200hrs in anticipation of forecasted severe thunderstorms on Monday, July 25, 2022.
NYC CERT Newsletter | Issue 82 | 07/23/2022
This weekly newsletter should provide you with helpful information that you can share and discuss with your community members.

If you're having difficulty viewing the newsletter click here to view as a webpage.
NYC CERT Deployment
Pictured above is NYC Emergency Management Commissioner, Zach Iscol receiving a briefing from the first NYC CERT members to be deployed (left to right: Edmond Suluku, Bronx Division 5; Commissioner Iscol; Darya Matskin and Craig Kligfeld, Brooklyn Division 5.
NYC CERT volunteers deployed to an emergency canvassing operation in the Bronx after the formation of a sink hole and combined with a flash flood event, over 300 residents were affected with water damage. At the request of Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), NYC CERT volunteers assisted NYC Emergency Management with a preliminary perimeter damage assessment of the damage. This provided the crucial data needed for the city to be able to provide the necessary assistance needed and start the recovery process for the local residents.
Prepare for Power Outages
COAD Meeting
A COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disaster) planning meeting was held at Life Together Works in the Soundview section of the Bronx this week.
Attendees included: Moriah Washington, NYCEM's Deputy Director of Community Preparedness, Anna Berry, Bronx Division 4 District Leader, Brenda Francis, Bronx Division 4 District Leader, and Pastor Ray Serrano, Executive Director of Life Together Works and more.

For more information on how you can support your community network visit: https://nyc.gov/communitypreparedness
Reminder: National Night Out
We want to remind divisions to connect with their local police precincts if they haven't already. To help ensure that NYC CERT leaders have this opportunity, we are providing a citywide contact list of NYPD Auxiliary Coordinators. NYC CERT leaders should reach out to the coordinating officers in your local precincts to request CERT participation.

If your division needs more support, please let us know by emailing CERT@oem.nyc.gov and we can help to facilitate that connection to the precinct.

Please submit your Ready New York Material Request for National Night Out ASAP!
NYC CERT Recruitment Group – Join Us!
Are you interested in joining a lively group of NYC CERT members who love talking about NYC CERT and assisting division leadership with recruitment plans and activities? Would you like to hear more about how to recruit for your division and learn some recruitment tips and best practices? If so, join us for an info session to learn more about the role of our NYC CERT Recruitment Group members! 
MONDAY RADIO ROLL CALL

Borough Channel:
CERT SI

7/25 Responding Borough: No Responding Borough


Documents to Review:
Each week we will have a survey with questions that relates back to lessons learned during NYC CERT training or your experience as a member. The answer will be revealed in the following week's newsletter. Good Luck!

The NYC CERT Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) provides guidance and outlines policies and procedures for you and your team to follow.
NYC CERT Division maps are available (pdf format) to support recruitment and preparedness planning in your community.
View the NYC CERT Event Calendar to see upcoming training, meetings, and planned deployments.

After you participate, be sure to Submit Your Volunteer Hours!

For more questions on how to submit your service hours you can view the Hours Submission FAQs.
Only CERT members in compliance with the vaccine mandate will continue receiving messaging from NYCEM CERT Program staff. Volunteers who did not submit appropriate documentation to meet the vaccine mandate, or request a reasonable accommodation through NYCEM, will be considered inactive until they submit following the below steps.

To submit vaccination records, please email an approved proof of vaccination to: CERTVaxVerification@oem.nyc.gov.

Please review the necessary steps HERE
If your division is hosting or participating in an upcoming event, please complete the Event Request form to have your opportunity published through Eventbrite.com for members to register.
Your NYC CERT Ready New York Liaison can submit a Ready New York Material Request for upcoming events.
Get Notified with New York City's official source for information about emergency alerts and important city services. Download the free Notify NYC mobile app, available for iOS and Android.
VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY
NYC CERT Basic Training

Here you can see students during the final session of the current Monday/Wednesday Basic Training class. During this session students were taught the basics of communication, examples of effective communication and how to tie that all together with basic radio communications in the NYC CERT program.
Division Meetings
Manhattan Division 3

During their monthly meeting members discussed heat safety, training opportunities and deployments . Leadership reviewed plans for National Night Out. Membership remains well informed by their leader Beth Roman as she continues to encourage all to stay prepared.
Queens Division 4

This past Monday, Queens Division 4 members gathered virtually for their monthly meeting with the main topics being planning for National Night Out and building relationships with their local FDNY fire houses and NYPD precincts.


Download NYC CERT Background for use during CERT meetings and training in a virtual environment (e.g. Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc.)
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
NYC Parks: Rockaway Beach Support

CERT volunteers are expected to be posted on the boardwalk assisting visitors to the open beach areas together with NYC Parks staff.
 
**New Shifts Added**
 
Basic Training Disaster Simulation Support

CERT Volunteers will be supporting the Disaster Simulation as live victims and simulation role players making the graduate class experience as realistic as possible as they close out their 11 sessions of NYC CERT Basic Training. Please sign up to support:
CERT Recruitment Event Opportunities at NYCEM Headquarters

This cycle, we are rolling out a new opportunity to do recruitment at NYCEM during a few of the basic training exercises. This is a great way to share information and literature on joining NYC CERT with any passersby that are curious about the exercises taking place outside headquarters. Consider joining other CERTs this summer for this unique opportunity to build membership!


Here are the recruitment event registrations:
Virtual Reality Simulation:
Hurricanes and Rip Currents

Please join us on August 16 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 AM for an immersive experience using a virtual reality simulator showing you the effects of Hurricanes and Rip Currents.

This will be an in-person event at NYC Emergency Management headquarters in Brooklyn, NY.
Buddy Check
As we close out a long year of volunteering to support your community and head into a new year with new challenges, please take some time to support one another. The best way to do that is by performing buddy checks.

What is a buddy check?
Taking the time to check on family and friends, especially those unable to leave their home for any reason. You might be surprised by the impact you'll have on those who you connect with.

Search for Buddy Check Event
Are you interested in becoming a mentor to new NYC CERT members?

All Volunteer leadership should be encouraging active members to serve in a mentor role in order to support both their growth as leaders and provide new opportunities for newer members to become more engaged.
  1. Complete the NYC CERT Mentor Program form to let us know if you'd like to be a mentor or mentee.
  2. Complete the Matching Questionnaire to help pair the mentor to a mentee. Both forms must be filled out to participate in the program.
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Ready NY Presenter Training
The Ready NY Presenter Training is an advanced training course designed for CERT members interested in becoming a Ready NY presenter.
Coastal Storm Plan Training
As we are fast approaching the upcoming flood season, the Coastal Storm Plan Training Learning Management System is available to volunteers 24/7 to be done as either Just In Time training or self-paced training. This is the new training for shelter management and all Coastal Storm Plan staff levels.
If you have not created an account you can easily do so on the home page of the site. These credentials are independent of any other credentials you have created in the past for NYC CERT.
Each of the FEMA Region II webinars presented in 2022 has been recorded and archived. If you wish to revisit a webinar you attended or would like to listen to one you missed, or even share with a friend or co-worker, you can find the links on the document linked here 2022 webinar recordings which includes the webinar description and recording link for each webinar by category.
NYC CERT online platform includes online courses to support volunteer growth.
Schedule a free Fire Safety training for your Division at
FEMA Region 2 (R2) Webinar Catalog includes all recorded webinars.
FDNY Smart offers free hands-only CPR classes through the FDNY Mobile CPR Program. The goal of these classes is to equip New Yorkers with the basic skills needed to take action in the event of a cardiac arrest emergency. To sign up for one of our free classes or to schedule a class in your community visit www.fdnysmart.org/cpr/.
COVID-19 Community Conversations: Mental Health, Equity and Resilience
DOHMH is offering free virtual training to community groups. There are two options, a 1-hour informational virtual presentation and a 3-hour interactive training (available in English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin). 
THINGS TO KNOW
Regular reminders in simple steps that can help you work preparedness into your busy schedule.
Listen to the NEW episodes of NYCEM's two podcasts, Prep Talk (SoundCloud, iTunes & Spreaker) and ¡Prepárate! on SoundCloud.


KNOW YOUR ZONE is your destination for everything you need to know about hurricanes in New York City.

You'll find information about the city's hurricane evacuation zones, the hazards you may face from a hurricane, and what to do to prepare.