Joseph Bruno will step down on June 27 after leading the New York City Office of Emergency Management since 2004.
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate (left) speaks with New York City Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Bruno at an event in Times Square to kick off the start of National Preparedness Month in 2011. Bradley Carroll/FEMA
After more than a decade of leading New York City’s Office of Emergency Management, Commissioner Joseph Bruno has resigned. He was appointed by then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2004 and was asked last December by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration to continue coordinating the city’s emergency response.
Bruno’s resignation letter was dated June 6, according to The New York Times, and he said his decision was based on his understanding that de Blasio wished to appoint his own team. Bruno will step down on June 27. The city has not commented on who will be appointed in his place, reported The Times.
In his 10 years as emergency management commissioner, Bruno oversaw the implementation of many initiatives and coordinated the response to numerous emergencies, including Hurricane Sandy in fall 2012, the Metro North train derailment in December 2013 and the Queens blackout in 2006.
Bruno also had a substantial impact on emergency preparedness. The city reported that more than 10 million emergency preparedness guides were distributed through the Ready New York campaign under his leadership. In addition, the city’s Community Emergency Response Team program has grown to more than 54 teams and 1,800 volunteers during his tenure.
In a 2009 interview with Emergency Management, Bruno called the Citywide Incident Management System the “biggest solution” the city has to manage emergencies. “It gives New York City agencies — very large, robust agencies — a game plan to follow,” he said. “It sets forth who's in charge and the structure that we follow, which is the national structure; it's changed a bit because New York City is somewhat unique. We know who's in command, who directs what work and all the agencies that should be there, and we assure that they are there.”
During that interview he also said if he were provided with a funding magic wand that he would spend it on post-disaster housing. While budgets have been cut across the nation in recent years, New York City has made strides on improving emergency housing. On June 10, the city unveiled a new prototype for emergency housing, after Hurricane Sandy left thousands of its residents in need of temporary shelter. Called the Urban Post-Disaster Housing Prototype, the city is testing the model as a way to provide residents in urban areas a temporary place to live in the event of an emergency.
"Years in the making, the city now has a first-of-its-kind model for emergency housing in urban areas," Bruno said in a statement. "The prototype tests the many facets of disaster housing in an urban environment and will ultimately help make our city and our country even more resilient in times of crisis."
A lifelong resident of New York City, before leading the Office of Emergency Management, Bruno’s public-service career included: joining the city’s Law Department as a trial attorney in 1971; becoming the city's fire commissioner in 1987; and being elected in 1991 and 2001 as a judge of the Civil Court of New York City and in 2002 as a justice of the Supreme Court of New York state.
Bruno’s resignation letter was dated June 6, according to The New York Times, and he said his decision was based on his understanding that de Blasio wished to appoint his own team. Bruno will step down on June 27. The city has not commented on who will be appointed in his place, reported The Times.
In his 10 years as emergency management commissioner, Bruno oversaw the implementation of many initiatives and coordinated the response to numerous emergencies, including Hurricane Sandy in fall 2012, the Metro North train derailment in December 2013 and the Queens blackout in 2006.
Bruno also had a substantial impact on emergency preparedness. The city reported that more than 10 million emergency preparedness guides were distributed through the Ready New York campaign under his leadership. In addition, the city’s Community Emergency Response Team program has grown to more than 54 teams and 1,800 volunteers during his tenure.
In a 2009 interview with Emergency Management, Bruno called the Citywide Incident Management System the “biggest solution” the city has to manage emergencies. “It gives New York City agencies — very large, robust agencies — a game plan to follow,” he said. “It sets forth who's in charge and the structure that we follow, which is the national structure; it's changed a bit because New York City is somewhat unique. We know who's in command, who directs what work and all the agencies that should be there, and we assure that they are there.”
During that interview he also said if he were provided with a funding magic wand that he would spend it on post-disaster housing. While budgets have been cut across the nation in recent years, New York City has made strides on improving emergency housing. On June 10, the city unveiled a new prototype for emergency housing, after Hurricane Sandy left thousands of its residents in need of temporary shelter. Called the Urban Post-Disaster Housing Prototype, the city is testing the model as a way to provide residents in urban areas a temporary place to live in the event of an emergency.
"Years in the making, the city now has a first-of-its-kind model for emergency housing in urban areas," Bruno said in a statement. "The prototype tests the many facets of disaster housing in an urban environment and will ultimately help make our city and our country even more resilient in times of crisis."
A lifelong resident of New York City, before leading the Office of Emergency Management, Bruno’s public-service career included: joining the city’s Law Department as a trial attorney in 1971; becoming the city's fire commissioner in 1987; and being elected in 1991 and 2001 as a judge of the Civil Court of New York City and in 2002 as a justice of the Supreme Court of New York state.
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