Even when the power is out, BOMA/New York will be on; How to prepare for potentially damaging storms

With June 1 officially inaugurating hurricane season and several Category 3 storms predicted, BOMA/NY continues to monitor the lingering after-effects of Superstorm Sandy while advising members on how to prepare for potentially damaging storms and their multi-million dollar price tags. With an eye on the hurricane season, BOMA/NY shares these lessons learned and will shortly be distributing a comprehensive storm preparation checklist to all members: * Coordinate with your insurers before a major storm * Educate tenants on re-occupancy procedures * Shut down unneeded systems in advance * Staff knowledge redundancy for key engineering/safety positions * Keep water, non-perishable food and toiletries in hand for staff unable to leave the site "One thing that will hold fast throughout this coming season and all future storm emergencies is BOMA/NY's commitment to be 'on' when the power is out," said president Louis Mantia. BOMA/NY was open for business before, during and immediately following Sandy and was able to cut red tape with city agencies and facilitate member requests for supplies. Working directly with the Department of Buildings, BOMA/NY helped enable buildings to be reoccupied far more quickly than procedures ordinarily allow by getting the central fire station rule suspended and the Zone A building safety reoccupation rules relaxed, among other accomplishments. BOMA/NY members manned its OEM seat 24/7, disseminating timely information on street closures, transportation and outage information from Con Edison and Verizon, among others. BOMA/NY expertise is also being contributed to two NYC government initiatives: the NYC Building Resiliency Task Force and the NYC Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency. The association is contributing best practices and recommendations for code changes in such areas as mitigating hazards, damage prevention, utility failure back-ups, failsafe life safety measures and more.