Bloomberg Insists Chaotic 911 Emergency System "Functioned Perfectly"

The Mayor of Money never admits a mistake, never admits weakness.

His 911 phone system is years overdue and a billion over budget.

And it doesn't work.

The chaos that occurred during Sandy is the latest example of that.

Has Bloomberg taken responsibility for this mess?

Silly RBE - accountability is for teachers, not billionaire mayors:

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday insisted that the city’s 911 system “functioned perfectly” during Hurricane Sandy — despite evidence of unanswered calls, clueless operators and deaths of people who couldn’t get help in time.

“The technology functioned perfectly,” Bloom-berg bizarrely said yesterday during a question-and-answer session. “Are you ever going to have enough operators to take all the calls when all of a sudden, everybody’s calling? No, of course not.

“We spent $1 billion to make sure we had the right technology.”

Bloomberg’s defense of the system came in response to a Post story, based on dozens of call records and examples, exposing 911’s inability to handle the crisis.

The 911 system is supposed to be able to handle 50,000 calls per hour, according to official claims, and there were about 20,000 calls per hour when Sandy hit on Oct. 29.

Hizzoner even accused people of clogging the lines with non-emergency calls — as their houses filled with water.

“If you call 911 and it’s not an emergency you’re taking away from that operator the ability to answer someone else’s need, which may, in fact, be life threatening,” he said.

“The technology we put together so we direct the emergency needs to the right places worked perfectly.”

One Midland Beach, Staten Island, resident — who was scolded by a 911 operator for not evacuating even as floodwaters approached his neck — might disagree with the mayor’s assessment.

“You need to look for a raft or something to get floating because if the water’s already up to your chest and it’s a one-story house, where are you going to go?,” the operator said, records show.

“Well, I was hoping you might help with that,” the distressed man replied.

Moments later, he told the operator he heard yelling outside.

“Yeah, OK. Yell back. Let them know that you’re there. Bye-bye,” the operator said, then hung up.
He was eventually rescued by a roving boat manned by first responders.

The resident called Bloomberg’s remarks yesterday “absurd.”

“It certainly was not working perfectly,” he told The Post. “I think Bloomberg’s out of touch again.”

Indeed he is.

How do you like a 911 system where the 911 operator berates you for calling?

Or a system that is supposed to handle 50,000 calls an hour but can't handle 20,000 without jamming up?

Bloomberg likes that system just fine - says it "functions perfectly."

This little autocrat loves to hold others accountable for their performance, and yet, time and again we see there is no accountability for his.