LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Richard Sheirer, former Commissioner of
the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management

WHEREAS, In full accord with its long-standing traditions, this Legisla-
tive Body is justly proud to honor Richard Sheirer, former Commissioner
of the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management; and
WHEREAS, September 11, 2011, represents the 10th Anniversary of the
terrorist attacks on the United States of America, during which the
seven buildings of the original World Trade Center complex were
destroyed, and almost 3,000 people tragically perished; and
WHEREAS, The City of New York's response and recovery to the September
11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center were largely coordinated by
the New York City Mayor's Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and
assisted by dozens of City, State, federal agencies and non-profit
organizations; and
WHEREAS, In February of 2000, Richard Sheirer was appointed Director
of the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management; on January 1, 2002, he
was named the first Commissioner of New York City's Office of Emergency
Management and the City's first Director of Homeland Security; his First
Deputy Director was John T. Odermatt who, in March of 2002, succeeded
Commissioner Sheirer as the second Commissioner of NYC OEM; and
WHEREAS, During and after September 11, 2001, OEM, under the direction
of Mr. Sheirer and Mr. Odermatt, coordinated the largest response,
recovery and cleanup effort in American history at the World Trade
Center; and
WHEREAS, After losing its offices and Emergency Operation Center (EOC)
in 7 World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, OEM used its experience,
expertise and ingenuity to set up a temporary EOC at the New York City
Police Department's training academy on 21st Street in Manhattan; later,
under his direction, Deputy Director for Administration Mr. Henry Jack-
son established a fully-functional EOC at Pier 92 on the West Side of
Manhattan; and
WHEREAS, Commissioner Sheirer and the OEM staff worked with the
Mayor's Office to address the needs of families of uniformed and civil-
ian victims, including coordinating efforts with the New York Commission
for the United Nations, Consular Corps and Protocol to address the
unique needs of foreign citizens and their families affected by the
attack; and
WHEREAS, OEM's various units performed heroically and under great
duress to discharge all the duties necessary to respond to and recover
from the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center, including the
public information center under the direction of Deputy Director Francis
E. McCarton, which handled over 25,000 media inquiries; the special
projects unit, which coordinated debris removal operations; Watch
Command, which maintained communications systems following the disaster;
and operations which provided logistical and administrative support to
the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from around the nation; and
WHEREAS, A graduate of St. Francis College, Richard Sheirer is a
public safety expert with three decades of experience in law enforcement
and crisis management, including having served as the Deputy Commission-
er for Administration for the New York City Police Department and Chief
of Staff to the Commissioner; before joining the Police Department, he
served with the New York City Fire Department for 20 years, having an
emphasis on emergency communication issues, rising to the level of Depu-
ty Commissioner; and
WHEREAS, On the 10th Anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on
the World Trade Center, Richard Sheirer, John T. Odermatt, Henry Jack-

son, and Francis E. McCarton, along with the rest of the staff at OEM
during and after September 11, 2001, are to be recognized and commended
by the State of New York for their courage, hard work, diligence and
loyalty in the face of seemingly overwhelming challenges; now, there-
fore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Richard Sheirer, former Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of
Emergency Management; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Richard Sheirer.