Photo courtesy Gothamist reader Heather D. One Park Slope resident emailed us to describe a surprising scene unfolding this morning on 4th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.I went out for my coffee around 10am and there were 4 white undercover SUVs, an NYPD emergency truck and a large, black DEP/HAZMAT truck/mobile unit parked on my street! When I came back from my coffee run I saw a Fire Dept. SUV parked at the 6th......

On the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting, NYU officials announced yesterday that the university is "exploring installing an unprecedented security system involving an electronic remote lockdown system that would shut down classrooms and entire buildings" in the event of an emergency. If it pans out, this would be the first of its kind at a school, allowing officials to bolt classroom doors and building entrances, as well as reach staff and students through......

Design by João Sequeira, with Ana Figueiredo, Marta Moreira, and Pedro Ferreira, of Lisbon, Portugal Mayor Bloomberg and the New York City Office of Emergency Management have announced 10 winners in the contest to design temporary housing for the thousands of New Yorkers who might be displaced in the event of a catastrophe, like a direct hit from a Category 3 hurricane. The 117 submissions from 30 countries had to create quickly assembled housing for......

Freaked out about the explosions in your neighborhood, only to find out via 311 that it's just fireworks? Or wondering about the fire around the corner? Well, the city actually does want you to know about what's going on in your neighborhoods and announced the pilot program launch of Notify NYC, which will deliver "emergency public information by email, text messages and reverse-911 alerts in four City community districts." The four districts are Lower Manhattan,......