 Good afternoon everyone and thank you for joining us for today's public safety briefing led by deputy mayor for public safety Phil banks During today's briefing after each speaker. We will take a few questions from the media related to their announcement Following our last speaker. We will take a few questions that have been submitted by the public ahead of today's briefing I would now like to turn it over to deputy mayor Phil banks. Hey, thank you and good afternoon everyone and certainly welcome My name is Phil banks. I'm the deputy mayor for public safety I'm joined here today by some of my esteemed colleagues who are going to be sharing some very interesting and useful Suggestions And we're just going to hear to continue to let you know exactly what the mayor's administration is doing What we're doing to keep you safe and what we need you to do to help us keep you safe So you have an opportunity to hear from each of us and then at the end we certainly will be hearing from you We're here from you in the form of questions that were submitted in response to an email That was sent out by the mayor to people who have signed up to get updates directly from City Hall So if you have not received this email and certainly if you would like to submit questions I encourage you to visit NYC gov and click on the office of the mayor Sign up for those emails and stay in touch with us and please provide this information to your neighbor To your colleagues at work and to your family Now we have a lot of very important updates and information to bring to you today So we're going to jump in Okay, so I'm once again joined by the FD&Y Commissioner Laura Cavanaugh and her chief of fire prevention Anthony Sicarino I should know that because I had numerous conversations with him But they're going to talk about some very interesting Topics right Laura was here at the Y Commission was here two weeks ago I think it was commissioner and and she talked about e-bikes e-bikes fires and the dangers of these lithium batteries And we're gonna talk about some recent legislation But we're back again, and you know what happens You're gonna continue to hear from the fire department You're gonna continue to hear from our fire commissioner Cavanaugh because this is a very very crucial very important and very preventable topics So right now commissioner Cavanaugh turn it over to you. Thank you. Deputy mayor I just want to start by saying a quick note of thanks to the Bronx district attorney and the jurors up in the Bronx Who this week found Jose Gonzalez guilty for the murder of emt yadira arroyo We are incredibly grateful that there has finally been justice in this case And our hearts go out to yadi's family and friends for their continued heartbreak and loss Thank you to the deputy mayor for this forum to discuss as he mentioned this very critical issue that confronts Both the citizens of new york and the first responders Who are responding to the many lithium ion battery fires that we have seen in recent weeks We are coming at this problem from every single angle as an administration We have passed legislation with the new york city council about additional regulation of these devices This package of bills is meant to ensure our firefighters and the public are safer by restricting the sale lease and rental of powered mobility devices like e-bikes and e-scooters And batteries for them that fail to meet the recognized safety standard certification Further these devices would be required to be ul certified, which is a safety standard to be legally sold in the city Our federal partners have also been helping as well earlier this week I joined congressmember ritchie torres at the scene of a massive five alarm fire that tore through a bronc supermarket over the weekend congressman torres legislation would require that the consumer product safety commission established A final consumer product safety standard for rechargeable lithium ion batteries and for use in e-bikes Many of you have already seen the damage that can be caused from one single battery And here's proof once again in this surveillance video that captures the moment the battery explodes in the supermarket This is an incredible volume of fire As you can see in this video these fires spread incredibly quickly and with great force And they pose a huge risk to our members and to the public In this case someone was on scene and this amount of fire was still insurmountable for him And destroyed an entire building The devastation in this case claimed actually a whole role of stores and a much frequented commercial strip in the bronx on which many local residents were dependent Damage caused by a single battery Now imagine what would happen if a fire started where there were multiple batteries Which is something our bureau of fire prevention encountered earlier this week in manhattan as you can see here A tip led our team to a parking garage where they discovered more than 100 e-bikes and more than 200 batteries charging in a makeshift charging station The batteries were plugged into an unapproved power strip and an extension cord which posed a significant fire hazard The team also noted that the charging area was not enclosed with the required minimum one hour fire rating per charging area Additionally, there was insufficient space between each battery a minimum of two feet while charging which is always necessary to prevent thermal runaway Imagine the damage this many batteries could cause as you can see here sitting out in the open Sitting on a palette of wood Given what we have already seen resulting from just one single battery This is the reason that we have been imploring the public to be smart about using these batteries and these e-bikes Please make sure these devices are not sitting in your hallway or your exit or your only way out of your room or your home Please make sure you look for ul certification It's a small sticker on any electronic device and make sure your device is manufacturer approved Don't use broken batteries or repaired batteries and please don't charge them overnight or when you're not watching them We've already this year had 33 fires from this 42 injuries and two deaths This is not a problem that is going to go away without continued action Rather, it is one we will continue to talk about and alert the public about and keep showing videos of the damage caused The volume of fire the sudden nature of the explosions caused by these devices All of it makes for a potentially catastrophic situation if there is a fire for both the public and our first responders And again, we're calling on the public to be partners with us to be smart about using these devices Especially those who are dependent on them for their livelihood And in the case of something like the parking garage, please alert us by calling 311 to any situation that may concern you We can send in our teams to check it out We're going to continue working with our local and federal partners And we will be on the streets working with residents and community stakeholders so that everyone is on the same page about combating this incredible hazard Thank you Hey commissioner, how long has the chief saccadino been the chief of fire prevention? I think about a month now Yeah, but he has been he has been there for some number of years and is incredibly experienced in this area Yes, and so chief I just like for you to just add on to our listening audience Um, anything that you'd like to input to re-emphasize this point Yeah, commissioner our our stance in the fire department, especially in the bureau fire prevention has been safety and awareness just to get the message out that We have to be smart about how we Charge the batteries. What kind of batteries where we're using I think the problem lies with the the batteries that have been When the original battery dies out From what we understand it's pretty expensive to replace that battery So normally what you know, somebody would do is look for the cheapest way to uh To get a new battery and without them knowing that this battery has Most likely been modified and is not safe So our message is continuously safety safety safety, right? We want to keep the public safe as well as the visitors as well as our members in the department and and our Thing is not to so much Penalize anybody but to just to keep everybody safe And I just like to add that, you know, we we focus on that these uh aftermarket batteries are less expensive But in reality, the matter is is when we're losing lives and losing property, they actually become much more Expensive two points. I just like to just speak with you about commissioner Last time you were here, you would have a very interesting two takeaways Do not have these bikes charging in your area of regress. I thought that was very important I was a takeaway that I remembered right if it's the door of the window that you have to get out in case of a fire Do not have it there. This is something that we can do as a city And certainly don't charge it overnight, right? That was the other takeaway that you have right? So I just want to make sure that we just re-emphasize that point That uh, no matter how we either report this or we talk to our neighbors and those friends Those are the areas that we have to get out right one We don't want you to buy an aftermarket battery and we are enacting legislation to uh to try to uh combat that But legislation is just legislation what we can do as a city Is take these useful tips and make sure we spread it to as many people as we possibly can because we can actually turn a corner The last point that I like to bring up and we spoke about this commissioner is that When that fire ignited there was a person there He saw the fire. So just imagine that if you're in the in the building where you're sleeping And now the the flames could go for two three four five minutes before anybody's aware This person was there and if I ignited and look at the damage that it caused So this is something as a team that we can do. I think you'll be hearing uh commissioner cavernor and a chief speak about this extensively throughout the years Um, and as a team, this is something that we can prevent. So I just want to thank you and thank you chief for that You're welcome So next up or we have uh, we have questions, right? Thank you commissioner and deputy mayor Uh, we'll now take a couple of question on topic questions from the media for the fd and why related to data's announcement Chris summerfelt from the daily news. Your line is now unmuted Hi deputy mayor. Can you hear me? Yes, I can. How you doing chris? I'm good. How you doing? Thanks for holding the briefing. Um, I was wondering since it is a public safety briefing, um, wondering why police commissioner sool is not present and if her absence has anything to do with chief holmes kind of abrupt departure from the police department um I think and I were you here when we had our, uh, opening Uh, uh, bomb voyages when we we started this here We had everybody here and we said each week they were going to be different people here Like last week we had agency heads that were not here This week you're not going to see some of the people here. So it's only four five of us. We're going to speak briefly So so nobody just going to have to get used to My ugly face every week Everyone else will be moving and and uh, coming back. So uh, that is the reason why there's no topic You're not in it for the my pd this week Our next question comes from katie honan from the city Hey, can you hear me? We can hello So I also have a question. Um, not that I'm also not interested in e-bike buyers But if the question is for you deputy mayor banks, um, I don't know if you saw the story published by my colleague Collie y'all have gone in about chief madry's intervention in the After a x cop Three kids said that he Brandished a gun in front of them and threatened them when they hit his security camera He was then, you know, he immediately called chief madry who was not in his current position at the time But he was in a different role and you know with within less than an hour. He was, uh, Release from the precinct. There's video that shows some I guess intervention from chief madry I knew you have a long experience with the police department and its protocols So I wanted to get your take if you think that's an appropriate use and if you watch the videos And you think that was appropriate action from him Derek can I ask you a question? Do we say we want to be on topic here? We did sir. Yes, sir. Listen here Katie right you have Plenty of times to ask your questions and submit them We're staying on topic Right, I mean, so there's certain type of discipline that we all have to be able to to follow So we're on topic there's people that's actually concerned about where these e-bikes are so they can save lives And that's what we're looking to get here So if you have a question a soft topic, you know, we like to trade discipline We want to ask the questions as much as possible the administrators ask questions We're staying on topic here. You can have your question answers and no, I don't read the publication that you mentioned anyway So I'm not even aware of it Okay, so now we're gonna Talk here from commissioner Lou Molina. Listen here. Hey, Lou I mean Rikers Island and the Department of Corrections has been a major major topic in the city for many many years You inherited a very very difficult job We speak almost every night at 11 30 12 o'clock it goes off to then And I just think that you're doing a fantastic job and I don't I don't pass these Compliments lightly. So what are we going to talk about and what are the people want to hear from you today about? So I think it's important for the public to know of some movement We made in critterly slashing stabbings, which is a major violence indicator for the department As well as assaults on staff and we've done a number of initiatives In order to make sure that we are trending and reducing those incidents from happening So fiscal year to date our slash and stabbings have been down 13 percent About nine months into this fiscal year, which is huge for us As you know at the beginning of january of 2022 We walked into a situation where violence was was skyrocketing in the department because of just for a number of issues That were neglected and now to be fiscal year to date at a 13 decline is big The other thing I'd like to share with the public in the month of february this year We had a 30 decline in slashing stabbings when compared to february of last year In addition to that february of this year was the lowest number of slashing and stabbing incidences that we had in the department Going back to january of 2021 In addition to that when we look at the month of march, which we're almost hitting mid month slashing and stabbings are down 52 percent So that's really huge for our department as we've begun to really stabilize And just make sure that the people that are in our custody As well as our staff contract providers and volunteers are safe In addition to that assaults on staff fiscal year to date are also down 42 fiscal year to date that's um that that's huge for our staff our staff our contract providers Our partners at correctional health services deserve to also work in a safe Environment and we need to make sure that environment for those that are in our custody is also humane and just So a number of steps that we've taken over the last 15 months brought us to this point As i've stated publicly before we've significantly increased the use of tactical search operations and facility search operations Which we recovered over 5 000 contraband Weapons out of our jail system in addition to over 1300 contraband narcotics and narcotics paraphernalia In addition to that with the the mayor's support and the support of deputy mayor banks We've done a number of infrastructure improvements to include the installation of new doors that have better locking mechanism In addition to putting window coverings over Plexiglass windows to ensure that those windows are not broken and turned into weapons We have also imprinted a number of our canine dogs to be able to detect fentanyl on its own As you know a number of items are are laced with fentanyl specifically paper items and clothing items And now we have canine that has helped us to improve our drug interdiction strategies Not only in mail coming into the jail system But also a vehicle checkpoints of individuals that work on or volunteer or our contract workers coming on to rikers island Or our bro facilities. We now use those canine operations to check those vehicles as well I want to just thank um the district attorney of the bronx district attorney dorsal carc We've also are holding detainees Accountable that commits serious crimes and acts of violence within our jail system And in 2022 we had an increase of 80 percent Of rearrested detainees that commit serious crime and violence either against other people in custody or our staff And another strategy that we're going to do to mitigate against Contraband coming into our facilities on monday We are starting the body scanning of individuals that go into the robin and davern center, which is also known as rndc Is the first step to just increasing and enhancing the security mechanisms on rikers island and eventually our bro facilities as well So all persons entering the robin and davern center starting on monday will be subject to Randomized body scanning and that's my update for this week Um, so commission, let me ask you a question. You mentioned something about our canines being imprinted for fentanyl Did any other agency or or assist you with that or what kind of type of training did they go through? Yeah, so in our initial operations, we partnered with our partner in nypd who already had canine Dogs that were already imprinted with fentanyl and they helped us on our first Vehicle inspection operation while our canines were trained in consultation and partnership With the custom and border protection agency So what we did was we sent handlers there with their Dogs for the time and they go to an in-depth training process with the custom and border protection So that our canines had that capability to detect fentanyl You know, I just want to just elaborate that point to the public out there was that The mayor had directed His administration to reach out to all agencies and we reached out to custom And board is very early on in administration and they reached out consistently to us. How can we help? How can we work together? How can we take this fight of public safety and instead of operating in silos work together? So first of all, I want to give a big shout out and a thank you to them because they've been very helpful We're working on them on some other issues They have been a great great partner and we decided to work together And kind of concentrate on our similarities instead of focusing on our differences Then what we do is that we can actually Achieve this public safety ecosystem and create this public safety for New York City. So I just appreciate that and I certainly want to appreciate them Again, we're taking on topic questions for commissioner. Molina Jeff colton from sitting state your line is unmuted Hey, thanks for taking the question Look arrests of the seven major crimes are up But the crime rate overall is trending downwards. I just wanted to ask the commissioner What's the effect of the population on rikers island? Is that going up? Is that down? Have we have we noticed any changes? With that that recent crime trend So I've already stated publicly that if the administration of justice Doesn't change based on the revised of the criminal justice reform laws And and other issues what we have seen over the last 15 months is our population trending upward But we have the capacity to manage the population as it comes in And so we're managing that within our system Okay, so next we're going to hear from christian clausner who's our executive director of the office of special enforcement I'm going to gather to say that most people may not have heard of you all of your Uh Yeah, your unit, but I'm certainly well aware of the critical work that you do So right now christian, let's tell the public who you are and uh, what we're doing our good stuff We're doing over there, but ose sure. Thank you deputy mayor banks And thank you also to mayor adams and all those attending today's briefing My name is christian clausner the executive director of the office of special enforcement Which is an office within the mayor's office of criminal justice. It's also known as ose Ose's mandate is to coordinate efforts across city agencies to problem solve around emerging issues Aversely affecting neighborhood cohesion livability and safety The vast majority of ose's work since 2015 has related to addressing illegal short-term rentals occurring in the city's permanent housing stock By working to stop the proliferation of these illegal short-term rentals Ose works to preserve permanent housing stock citywide to prevent harassment and displacement of permanent residents And to promote safety and quality of life throughout our communities Our enforcement efforts protect residents and visitors to new york from dangerous violations of the city's building and fire codes While striving to minimize disruptive activity in new yorkers residential neighborhoods and buildings To be clear short-term rentals are those for fewer than 30 consecutive days The state and city laws that have been on the books for decades That apply in new york city restrict rentals for fewer than 30 days To only those situations where up to two guests are staying with a permanent occupant Short-term rentals are illegal where the host is not staying with the guests Where the rental is for the entire unit or where more than two guests are staying In january of last year the city adopted local law 18 also known as the short-term rental registration act In general this law first requires that all short-term rental hosts register with the city and agree to operate legally And second that online booking services are prohibited from collecting fees from transactions For short-term rentals unless they have either verified that the rental is registered or exempt from registration The law also requires ose to maintain a prohibited buildings list comprised of buildings whose owners have notified ose that short-term rentals are prohibited in the building ose finalized rules implementing this law in early february after reviewing hundreds of comments and conducting two public comment hearings These rules include significant changes from the proposed rules designed to make the registration even easier for hosts And provided additional protections for the online booking platforms Ose is pleased to report that this past monday march 6 marked the opening of its short-term rental registration portal Which includes online applications both for hosts to register their home for short-term rentals As well as for building owners to notify ose the short-term rentals are prohibited in their buildings The portal is accessible from ose's website, which can be reached at nyc.gov Slash ose the very first icon on the page which reads short-term rental registration has begun click to learn more and apply We'll take all users to our registration law page Which contains links to both applications copies of the law and rules Frequently asked questions for hosts and owners and importantly a list of tips for hosts on preparing to complete the application The host application is simple applicants need to provide six pieces of information Their name their phone number their email their address whether they rent or own and the number of unrelated people that live in the unit They then disclose the online listings. They use to advertise their short-term rentals Upload one proof of id two proofs of permanent occupancy a portion of the lease if they're a renter And then they check a series of boxes indicating their understanding of an agreement to follow the various laws and rules relating to short-term rentals and the registration program Applicants that follow the tips on the ose website and prepare in advance should expect the application process to take only 15 to 20 minutes The building owner application is also very easy applicants to the prohibited building list simply provide their name and contact information and the building address And certify that short-term rentals are prohibited in the building and also check off Boxes indicating we understand the laws and rules related to the list This process should not take more than five minutes As of midnight last night ose had received 1474 applications for the prohibited buildings list and hosts have completed 52 applications for registration and started dozens more ose looks forward to continuing to support legal short-term rental hosts throughout this process In closing, I'd like to thank the many members of the administration that supported this project as well as my colleagues at the law department The department of buildings the fire department housing preservation development, and especially the tireless team at the office of technology and innovation Thank you deputy mayor for the chance to no, thank you So we just want to break this down so that uh, the public can actually you know understanding short-term rentals 30 days or less Correct, correct. Okay. So so it's not going over. What are some of the other limitations of what you can or cannot do 30 days or less now If you technically if you own a two-family You have a mother-daughter or some type of two-family. Can you ear being be out the second apartment? You have you can only do short-term rentals in the unit that you live in while you're living there If it's a two-family and the second unit is empty The that is legally used only for permanent residential housing and we encourage homeowners to make money by renting to long-term residents in that situation So that's the part that I just want to make sure that the takeaway here You own a two-family All right, and you have a you live in one of the apartments and you have another apartment You can only ear being be the apartment that you physically are Living in living in and you have to be there you can't go on vacation while you're doing it, correct? You have to physically be living there when that takes place Now let's talk to the landlords now if the landlord has a two-family that he or she is renting out or three-family Right here. She's renting out and they do not wish for their They're dwelling their premise to be utilized by their tenants for ear being be or any type of short-term rentals What do they need to do they go to our website nyc.osc nyc.gov slash oc They click on the very first thing they see and it will take them to a link to the prohibited buildings list portal They include their name if it's an attorney or managing agent They can those people can also fill out the application It takes under five minutes They put the building address and it's automatically added to the list once they say I certify that the leases and other occupancy agreements in this building prohibit short-term rentals So what happens two questions for you? What happens if Someone has an apartment They don't register But then they go on the air b&b site or any other type of Competitors or site to engage in a short-term rental. What's what's the repercussions? Is there any type of penalties? Does air b&b allow that? What's what are we looking at if someone attempts to do that? Sure So the law envisioned a four month period in between registration and enforcement The city wants hosts to have time to understand the process get into the system complete their applications Give us time to review After four months when enforcement begins the booking platforms will be required to verify with the city computer system If this is a valid registration if it is not registered They are prohibited from processing the transaction So in your situation if someone tries to do it without registering the major sites will simply say sorry You are not registered. We can't process this Okay Okay That was very informative and I appreciate it. I'm sure the public does too christian. So thank you, sir Okay, so last but certainly not least we have our new york city emergency management commissioners at school And he's going to talk to us about notified new york city and commissioner for a day contest, correct? That is correct sir commissioner for day. Thank you, sir. And thanks for having us today. Thank you for everybody who is tuning in You know as the deputy mayor said during the first one of these Events panels was the public is the sixth man And we need your help in creating public safety And that is true also for emergency management So at emergency management one of the things that we do is we have something called watch command Watch command monitors everything going on in the city 24 7 365 We have an incredible team. They monitor everything going on in this city Mypd fd and y ems calls utilities Infrastructure everything that's going on they keep watch on and then when something happens They help coordinate the inter-arranged response They help making sure that the city is getting its resources out to the scene And the other thing that they do is they alert the public to what's happening They let people know what's going on around the city things that they need to know about This could be weather events. It could be transit disruptions It could be major emergencies like the mass shooting that occurred a year ago So this is really important information for the public to have And our official notification system is something called notify nyc This was initially launched as a pilot program in 2007 It was an expanded citywide to the five boroughs in 2009 I'm very proud to announce that we now have well over a million subscribers to notify nyc But we can't rest and we need your help getting all 8.3 8.5 million new yorkers subscribed to notify nyc So that they have the informations that you have the information that you need To keep yourself safe your neighbor safe your family safe your loved ones safe So this is really important for everybody to sign up you can sign up by going to 311 By visiting nyc.gov notify nyc Or by following us on social channels This is also available in 14 languages including american sign language It's customizable based on the type of notifications you want to get and based on your language preference So I strongly encourage and urge everyone to sign up for notify nyc In addition to that We are launching our third annual new york city emergency management commissioner for a day program This is an essay contest For new york city high school students. It's one of my favorite days of the year Getting to meet these young kids Entrance can Can people can enter by submitting an essay You can find out more information on our website nyc.gov backslash emergency management also on our social channels And then you can submit your your essay by april 1st to ready new york at oem.nyc.gov So looking forward to reading your submissions. Thank you Okay, so Zach before we go to any questions or continue. Let's talk about this notify nyc. We have a million subscribers Yes, sir, that's 14 languages. Yes, sir 14 languages including american sign language So to the to the public. This is the takeaway right one You know, we urge you to sign up for it until we also urge you to tell one person in your family to sign up for it I mean we could get this to to mean tomorrow if we just signed up if you're not Endowed tell a friend tell a neighbor Tell a relative, but I'd like to go in a little more detail. What exactly give it give a specific example of one or two Notifications, I mean are you going to be texting them a hundred times a day? About nonsense or we are we talking about some real quality information that they could use in their everyday life So you can set your your settings to determine what information you're getting if you're specifically interested in transit disruptions You can set the standard the the settings to just get messages about transit disruptions, you know Shutdown on the l-train something going on in the fdr. You can also do it by your neighborhood We also send out a lot of information about weather in particular if you live in areas that are prone to coastal flooding We will let you know about nws alerts and also give you the information that you need to be prepared for those types of weather events excellent, okay okay Thank you earlier this week the administration reached out to new yorkers asking them to submit questions for the officials that have joined us Here today We will now get to as many of those questions as we can with the time that we have left Our first question comes from karen from Manhattan. This is for the fdny She says what can the fdny do working with the city council to take the threat of e-bikes and scooters seriously They are extremely dangerous to the safety of new yorkers Thank you for that question We agree these are very dangerous devices and we have worked hand in hand with the city council Who has both passed and proposed a number of pieces of legislation that are going to help us Both regulate these devices in the city of new york so that the devices coming in are safe But also will help give us resources to reach out to the public and do education and training And we're going to keep collaborating with them until this danger has been eliminated Our next question comes from kathleen from the bronx This is for commissioner melena does rikers island have security cameras in every portion of the jail So the department of corrections has over 12,500 stationary cameras throughout all of our facilities in our system In addition to that our offices also wear body-worn cameras So we have over 3,000 body-worn cameras that we deploy to our staff as well Thank you Our next question comes from molly from queens For commissioner iskall. What is the best way to create an emergency plan for the dangerous flooding that we keep seeing? Yeah, thank you molly for your question. It's a great one So first off I encourage you to go to nyc.gov backslash know your zone and know what flood zone coastal evacuation zone that you live in So that's number one and that's for coastal flooding There's different types of flooding that we need to be prepared for Coastal storm surge coming from the ocean is one We're also seeing events like hurricane ida or post tropical storms Where you're starting to see flooding in certain neighborhoods from High amounts of rainfall coming from the skies cloudburst events So best way to also be prepared for that is to have the information you need about the forecast Watching the weather signing up for notify nyc. And again, you can do that at nyc.gov backslash notify nyc You can also download the app in the itunes store and through the google app store And then following us on social channels or even by calling 311 if you're less less tech savvy So having the information that you need through notify nyc knowing your zone And then third of all you can go to our website nyc.gov Backslash emergency management, and there's a link there where you can actually be get walked through Developing an emergency plan that works for you based on your specific needs, you know, every family is different You may or may not have Pets you may or may not have an older adult you need to care for maybe you have kids medications But that resource will help you sort of ask the questions and then build your own Individually tailored emergency plan For any event not just for flooding Our next question comes from lyric tomsen from brooklyn for commissioner cavanaugh My question is with regard to fire rated doors. Can you explain more about nfpa at? Sure. So a fire rated door helps ensure that a fire can be contained within an apartment So you've often heard us say to please close the door after you if you're evacuating your apartment And it's on fire these doors make sure that fire is contained And i'd like the chief to explain a little bit about how you can actually look at your door and know whether it is fire rated Okay, definitely commission on a fire rated door On the edge of the door closest to the hinge side is going to be a tag and these doors are Are of the metal clad type, right? They're not wood And basically that tag will state whether or not it's approved as a fire door Thank you Next question comes from loray from minhatten for commissioner malina How can our loved ones suffering from mental health be safe in prison? Are there social services available for them? So we uh, the department of corrections. We do have mental health observation housing It's managed by our with our partnership with the correctional health services An example of that housing is our pace units which stands for the program for a credit accelerated clinical effectiveness And in those housing units not only do we have uniform correction officers? That are given specialized training to work with that vulnerable population But there is also staff by members of the correctional health services And those members are non uniform clinicians that work with that vulnerable population Thank you. Our next question comes from makiba from minhatten for deputy mayor banks How can the public have more access to government officials? Uh, well, the first thing is here right through here. I look for start on our uh, our friday briefings So that's the first start To um, sign up for notify. Um, nyc, right? So things like this gave a great presentation You'll hear a lot more about that. We always talk about in the beginning, right? It was so everybody that you want to hear from the mayor go to Newyorkcity.gov and click on the office of the mayor At that particular point you will be receiving emails and information updates about government Um, and then your local uh council members that are your representatives. I encourage everybody is to start Do you know who your local council member is? Do you know who your local your assembly person your state senator? So sometimes this knowledge do you know who your precinct commander is? So it's the first I think it was a great question, right? You're down to the basics, right? Notif uh, tune in here right every uh friday. We'd like for you to do that That's the first thing to what they're commissioners school just mentioned about sign them for his alerts We mentioned nyc.gov office of the mayor and find out Who's your local precinct commander? Who's your local community board? Chairperson who's your local council person? Who's your state assembly? Who's the state senator? If you just start with that as one we can see how we can continue I think that was a great question and I just uh, thank you Our next question comes from to here for fdny commissioner Kavanaugh What are the next steps for regulating banning specific lithium ion batteries that are putting new york inspection staff? public and property at risk That's a great question. So we are working with our federal state and city partners And so we have legislation pending on every level that will regulate these devices and ensure That the only safe devices are being sold We are asking as you heard here today to have the community work with us As the deputy mayor mentioned this regulation will work And it will change the safety of the devices coming in but many people have these devices in their homes Right now and so what we're imploring people to do is to make sure that that bike is never charging in an area That would prevent you from getting out of your room or getting out of your apartment As you can see the volume of fire from these are tremendous and we want to make sure Even in the case where this unfortunate Action were to occur and there was a fire you could get out and the first responders could get to you So we are tackling this issue. We are going to lower the incidences of these fires But we really ask for anyone who has a bike in their home Right now to make sure you follow that safety tip and make sure it's not in the way of you and getting out of your apartment And I just have to just add on to that commission if I can and I just don't want to harp on this But this issue to me Is very preventable If you talk about safety challenges over the over the course of years you talk about wearing seatbelts Like it before I got into society people didn't want their seatbelts. They were dying But it took it took time for people to start getting used to click it We had all sorts of campaign ads and click it and over the course of till we got to a point Where the majority of people do wear seatbelts people died We are going to get a handle as a city On these lithium batteries The question is that we can do without anybody dying Or we can wait till x number of people die and this is something that we can do together as a team a team being Everybody in new york city. We have a vested interest. I can't see any two sides of the equation in this area here So please continue to push that out. We're asking members of the media to push that out But more importantly we're talking to the people who are who are listening in here Tell a friend tell a neighbor and after you do it tell another one and after you do it Tell another one because we can actually make some progress and save some last year Our final question comes from david from brooklyn. I will pose this to deputy mayor banks Does the mayor's office of criminal justice work with the department of education or cuny in for example Reentry programs or other does education play a role in ensuring public safety more generally two points um education plays a huge role a huge role in public safety Not only one just having people educated about public safety There used to be a saying in an old clothing store and i'm probably dating my age that an educated consumer is our best customer Um, you know, it was a it was a it was a men clothing store primarily And educated consumer is public safety's best right understand exactly what is going on But two when we start educating our and the mayor speaks about it all the time and the chancellor speaks about it Um often that we have to educate these children We have to get them right because we get them out. It's a pathway out of poverty It's a pathway out of just so many of the ills that lead to public safety So public safety is no not just putting a cop on a corner and looking to deter robbery though That is important. There's many many facets of public safety And that's what we're looking to do here with with one of the things we're looking to achieve with this uh With this forum here, but yes mark j does a reentry is one of the uh many things that they do Um, so you look how the extension goes you have probation You have corrections you have the mayor's office of criminal justice mark j when people are leaving corrections They have needs these needs have to be met and if you don't meet them what you're going to do is have them back in Rikers again, which is what we don't want to do right? We don't want people in the criminal justice system No one should want that right so traditional housing coming out. Do you need a job? How can we help you? Do you need some housing? Do you need some financial support until you can get yourself? Um On on your own feet and mark j actually takes lead on that and I think they do a very good job It's a great question I'm going to have them here next week to speak specifically on that particular area so that we can get that out And uh, as a you know, the trick is to limit the incarceration as much as possible and the ones that do commit these crimes Or they damp out our public safety We need to see whether or not what what ills that they have that we can correct And the ones that don't then of course that's what the criminal justice system Facilities to incarcerate them But the goal is to to minimize incarceration as much as we possibly can you cannot arrest And uh incarcerate your way out of a public safety issue. No one can do that And I think that's been established A great question. Thank you on behalf of the adams administration I would like to thank everyone for tuning in to today's briefing We look forward to seeing you at our next one. Have a great day