The PHNDC Emergency Disaster Management (EDM) Committee has been actively building its outreach and knowledge of community preparedness since its establishment in May. Committee members believe that our community needed to know what resources and needs exist in Prospect Heights with respect to disaster preparedness. So, they started with the basics.

In partnership with the Brooklyn Neighborhood Improvement Association, the committee launched its first activity in July, conducting a door-to-door survey of commerical enterprises and many multifamily residential buildings in Prospect Heights. Through the BNIA, 12 Summer Youth Employment Program interns worked with PHNDC to conduct one of the largest disaster preparedness surveys done by community-based groups in NYC. The survey was drafted and designed by members of the EDM committee and continuously improved by the interns as they went door to door. The survey was also extended to selected commercial avenues in Crown Heights later in the summer. The initiative drew upon the elements of Community Assessment/Preparedness Planning toolkit offered by the City of New York Office of Emergency Management.

The digital surveys took only five minutes to conduct and had two interlinked purposes: awareness building and indicating the level of readiness of commercial enterprises and multifamily residential buildings. The survey is still live and answers continue to come in. A full analysis of the results and methodology will be shared in the near future. Thanks to the PHNDC members and youth interns who have helped to make this project a success.