For Immediate Release
#33-22

NYC EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT’S LATEST ¡PREPÁRATE! EPISODE WELCOMES READY NEW YORK PROGRAM DIRECTOR ABIGAIL BANKS

¡Prepárate! {Click to listen to episode 12}

June 2, 2022 ― Being prepared for emergencies can help save lives, businesses, and communities. The New York City Emergency Management Department has a dedicated program to help New Yorkers prepare before, during and after emergencies. The Ready New York program was established in 2003, and to date has held more than 10,000 presentations and events across the five boroughs in schools, businesses, churches, community organizations, with elected officials and international representatives. The program’s mission is to help New Yorkers make a plan and be prepared for emergencies. Ready New York also leans on the diversity of New York City by providing all the materials in multiple languages.

On the latest episode of ¡Prepárate!, NYC Emergency Management’s Spanish-language podcast, goes behind the scenes with Abigail Banks, Ready New York’s program director. Abigail Banks and her team work to inform all New Yorkers (including children) on the steps they can take to stay prepared for all types of emergencies, including fires, power outages, weather emergencies, mass transit disruptions, and more. These steps include establishing meeting places with your household, supplies that best suit your needs, and how to stay informed with resources like the Notify NYC emergency communications program.

“Even if you do not write your plan down today at least talk about it,” said Abigail Banks, Ready New York program director. “Emergencies happen at all times of the day and that conversation could be the difference between life or death.”

You can listen to ¡Prepárate! on SoundCloud and Spotify.

Profile

Abigail Banks began her career with New York City Emergency Management in 2017 as a member of AmeriCorps supporting the community engagement programs, and later as an intergovernmental affairs specialist for NYC Emergency Management’s government relations team. During her time with government relations, Abigail coordinated public events for the agency. As director for the Ready New York program, she is responsible for coordinating all emergency preparedness presentations and events citywide. Abigail earned a master’s degree in corporate communications from the Weisman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College.

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