CARIBBEAT: Caribbean-rooted, city attorney handles legal side of disasters
Whether bracing for a severe storm or coping with the shock of a terrorist attack, New Yorkers rely on immediate aid from the city’s well-known first responders — and the NYC Emergency Management agency.
Part of the city’s team of dedicated first responders, NYC Emergency Management staffers and volunteers not only work at disaster scenes, but operate year-round for residents and visitors, under the agency’s “prepare, respond, and recover” creed, says Caribbean-rooted Sonja Orgias, the agency’s deputy chief counsel since last November.
“This is a high-performance environment,” Orgias said proudly of the agency, which “is responsible for coordinating citywide emergency planning and response for all types and scales of emergencies.”
Orgias previously served the department’s Director/Emergency Operations Manager, supervising the Emergency Operations Center during crises, and performed other duties. Her new position is mainly legal — an important and necessary component considering the wide role Emergency Management plays before, during, and after disturbances in the city.
“I know that the work that I do directly impacts what’s happening in the field,” she said . The first generation American born in Brooklyn to a mother and father from Grenada and Haiti, respectively — “oversees three units responsible for legal counsel, records management and legal guidance on civil and disability rights related to emergencies.”
“My legal role is speaking to the [city’s] Law Department about what are we going to do during emergencies, what are the things we need to be thinking about from a liability and perspective on behalf of the city of New York and our agencies, and how do we keep the public safe?” she explained.
For example, the coronavirus pandemic was a busy time for Orgias and the relatively small 200-plus-person agency — which obtained personal protective equipment, set up hoteling contracts and location agreements.
In addition to providing on-scene disaster assistance, the agency’s arsenal of support includes:
* Instructions on how to put together, “Go Bags” with bottled water, non-perishable food, medicines, phone chargers, and copies of important documents in a waterproof case are items that should be ready to go in an emergency.
* More than one million people subscribe to Notify NYC, a free app for city alerts — from road closures to bad weather and missing persons. It’s available in 13 languages!
* Community Emergency Response Team volunteers who are trained in basic emergency response — including fire safety, light search and rescue, community disaster support, and disaster medical operations.
* And emergency management information is available through the agency’s “Prep Talk” podcasts.
Orgias said the availability of the Notify NYC app in 13 languages is one example of the agency keeping pace with the diversity of the city’s ethnic communities, noting positive actions of the new Commissioner Zachary Iscol.
“He really wants us to reflect the communities that we serve, and I think we have a very intentional focus,” said Orgias, who now serves on NYC Emergency Management’s decision-making executive staff and is co-chair of the inaugural Equity and Diversity Council.
For information on agency and its programs, visit NYC Emergency Management online and on social media.
CELBRATING GUYANA
As Guyana marks its 56th anniversary of independence from the United Kingdom, the Guyana Consulate in New York will celebrate the occasion with free reception at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center at 153-01 Jamaica Ave. in Queens, on May 25, starting at 6 p.m.
For information, call the consulate at (212) 947-5110.
Caribbeat now appears every other week. To submit items for Caribbeat, send email to caribbeatnewyork@gmail.com.
