FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2005
No. 158
www.nyc.gov
MAYOR
BLOOMBERG AND POLICE COMMISSIONER KELLY JOIN UNION, BUSINESS AND
REAL ESTATE LEADERS TO UNVEIL PILOT TRAINING PROGRAM FOR PRIVATE
SECURITY OFFICERS
Mayor Michael R. Michael Bloomberg, Police Commissioner
Raymond W. Kelly, SEIU Local 32BJ President Michael Fishman and
Partnership for New York City President and CEO Kathryn S. Wylde
today announced New York Safe & Secure, an innovative pilot
training program for security officers in New York City commercial
office buildings, will begin training workers this week. Also
joining the Mayor at the announcement were Realty Advisory Board
President Jim Berg and representatives from Fisher Brothers and
Vornado Realty Trust, the first companies to have their employees
participate in the program.
"Helping to keep New York safe is everyone's
responsibility," said Mayor Bloomberg. "New York Safe
& Secure brings together government, labor and business to
increase training and professionalism for private sector security
personnel. All New Yorkers will benefit from having thousands
of extra trained eyes and ears on the streets on the lookout for
trouble. I am proud that the NYPD and Office of Emergency Management
will be providing their technical expertise and training for this
program and I want to thank SEIU, the Partnership for New York
City, Fisher Brothers and Vornado Realty Trust for taking the
initiative and bringing this program into operation."
New York Safe & Secure provides security officers
in buildings managed by Fisher Brothers and Vornado with 40 hours
of in-depth commercial building security training above and beyond
the eight hours required by New York State. The curriculum, developed
by the Office of Emergency Management and the NYPD with the assistance
of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, reflects modern security
concerns and includes segments on terrorism, evacuation procedures
and coordination with police, fire and emergency personnel during
a crisis.
Trainees will receive instruction on the history of terrorism,
examine case studies of previous terrorist attacks and their responses
as well as receiving briefings on identifying different types
of explosives devices and fake identifications. The training will
be conducted by off-duty NYPD officers and recently retired instructors
from the New York Police Academy.
Initially, 253 security officers from 31 Midtown
buildings owned and operated by Fisher Brothers and Vornado, will
take part in the pilot program with the expectation that the program
will be expanded to include additional owners and buildings. In
addition to providing training sessions to their security officers,
Fisher Brothers and Vornado have agreed to compensate their workers
in lost wages for participating in the program. The cost of operating
the program is being shared through an agreement between Local
32BJ and the Realty Advisory Board.
"The state-of-the-art training courses provided
through this program will go a long way toward ensuring that security
officers possess the skills they need to help the City's police,
fire and emergency personnel keep New York and New Yorkers truly
safe and secure," said Commissioner Kelly.
"As the largest building service workers union
in New York City, Local 32BJ is committed to working with government,
the real estate industry and the business community to ensure
private security officers receive the state-of-the art training
they need to safeguard the buildings they patrol and protect the
people who work in and visit New York's midtown and lower Manhattan
office buildings," said Mike Fishman, Local 32BJ President.
"At the same time, security officers must receive a livable
wage if we are to reduce the alarmingly high turnover rate that
undermines the effectiveness of today's private security industry.
"In the post-September 11th environment, the
availability of highly-skilled private security officers in commercial
office buildings is crucial," said Kathryn S. Wylde, President
and CEO of the Partnership for New York City. "New York Safe
& Secure establishes a protocol to protect New York City's
high-profile office buildings that is state-of-the-art and includes
the best trained personnel and incentives to attract the top talent
in the field."
"Fisher Brothers has long recognized the tremendous
importance of a properly trained and professional security staff,"
said Fisher Brothers Senior Partner Ken Fisher.
"While innovative technology and security systems make buildings
more secure, there is no substitute for proper training and employment
standards."
"We are pleased to be among the first building
owners to join this important program for ensuring a safer and
more secure working environment for thousands of people who occupy
our office buildings every day," said Gaston Silva, Chief
Operating Officer of the Vornado Office Division. "As owners
and as New Yorkers, we are committed to constantly seek improvement
in all areas."
"We are happy to have the opportunity to continue
in this innovative and proactive effort to strengthen the city's
first responder network," said James Berg, President of the
Realty Advisory Board. "New York Safe & Secure clearly
demonstrates the seriousness with which all of us view issues
of security and tenant safety."
In 2002, the Partnership for New York City recruited
business leaders to join Local 32BJ and real estate leaders for
a series of roundtable discussions hosted by Jacques Dubois, Chairman
and CEO of Swiss Re America Holding Company, that examined strategies
to raise the professional qualifications of building security
personnel. This program is an product of those discussions. In
May 2004, Local 32BJ, the Realty Advisory Board and the Real Estate
Board of New York began a similar labor-management security training
program. To date, New York Safe & Secure has trained more
than 5,500 residential building service workers in security awareness.
Contact:
Edward Skyler / Jordan Barowitz (212) 788-2958
Paul Browne (NYPD) (646) 610-6700
Matt Nerzig (32BJ) (212) 539-2882
Brad Hoylman (Partnership) (212) 493-7484
