Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) brought the NYPD and NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to his office this morning to meet with a packed room of representatives from local mosdos with the goal of moving beyond the talking stage of counter terrorism. An information-packed seminar was given by Sgt. Stephen Iannone of the NYPD Counter Terrorism Division along with Ira Tannenbaum, Assistant Commissioner of OEM�s Public/Private Initiatives, meant to jump start actual anti-terrorism protocols for each individual yeshiva or shul interested in taking proactive measures.

�Great things are happening in our community with regard to being more aware of security needs,� said Hikind, who has remained in the forefront of calling for greater security for the community. �Today�s meeting was to take us beyond the talking stage and start moving towards action. People understand that our yeshivas and places of worship are genuine potential targets, G-d forbid. Now it�s time to put plans in place and to practice those plans.

�Professional firefighters are the best equipped to deal with a fire emergency but our schools also have fire drills to prepare faculty, staff and children in the event of a fire, G-d forbid. Similarly, we pray that our schools will be safe, and we rely upon law enforcement to protect our community, but preparedness in this instance is more than practical. We�re taking steps towards risk reduction and working with major institutions in our community because being prepared saves lives.�

Assemblyman Hikind thanked Sgt. Iannone and Assistant Commissioner Tannenbaum for their presentations and recognized Natan Mandelbaum, the NYC OEM�s Deputy Director of Training, who was also on hand to answer questions.

(YWN Desk – NYC)