Preparedness Month Spotlight: Meet Faye Peithman, Continuity Planner 

NYCHA employee Faye Peithman still remembers the damage left behind after Superstorm Sandy ripped through her community of Rockaway Beach. 

Among the New Yorkers who stayed home when the coastal storm struck the New York City area in October 2012, Ms. Peithman witnessed intense flooding on the streets and a fire just a block away from where she lived. The alarming experience, she noted, was a driving factor that led to her work in emergency management and preparedness for the NYCHA community.  

“It was very scary,” she recalled. “I don’t think our residents deserve to go through that, and that’s why a lot of my work has been trying to get the word out about being aware of what your evacuation zone is and what your plan is so you don’t put yourself in danger.”  

Since beginning her NYCHA career in late 2020 as a member of the then-Office of Emergency Management, Ms. Peithman has been charged with helping to ensure that both residents and employees are adequately prepared and know how to respond in the event of a destructive storm or various other emergencies. 

Ms. Peithman currently works within the Emergency Management and Services Department’s (EMSD) Preparedness Unit, which is responsible for drafting emergency response plans, improving resident and staff resiliency, and conducting training and exercises. Ms. Peithman serves as a Continuity of Operations Planner to help ensure that NYCHA staff are prepared to provide continuous essential services to NYCHA residents, even during a disruptive event. The Continuity of Operations team liaises with each NYCHA department on their continuity plans as well as New York City Emergency Management for citywide response. 

Previously, Ms. Peithman assisted with revising EMSD’s Resident Resilience and Preparedness Program, which is focused on enhancing residents’ readiness and resiliency to all types of emergencies through efforts such as public awareness campaigns, workshops and trainings, and outreach at community events.  

“The mission is to make sure that residents are prepared for any kind of event that might impact them,” she explained.   

In September, the issues of emergency readiness and resiliency across all communities are brought to the forefront as part of National Preparedness Month. While the EMSD team is dedicated to preparedness efforts year-round, the annual campaign is another tool to raise community awareness within NYCHA.  

“If there’s more people paying attention to emergency preparedness, I’m all for it,” Ms. Peithman said. 

In recognition of Preparedness Month, residents from coast to coast are reminded of key actions they can take to help keep their families and communities safe: be informed, make an emergency plan and assemble emergency supplies, and stay informed. Read more about the campaign’s pillars and important messages here.  

As Preparedness Month coincides with coastal storm season, Ms. Peithman notes it’s a fitting time to spotlight the City’s “Know Your Zone” initiative, which encourages residents to learn their hurricane evacuation zone and what to do if a storm occurs in their area. This includes having a plan for where to go if an evacuation order is issued. 

“We want to make sure that residents know their hurricane evacuation zones and know what they have to do in the event that a coastal storm is coming our way. Know the zones of where you live and also where you work,” she said. “It’s about not only knowing your evacuation zone but knowing your closest evacuation center in the city. If there’s an evacuation order, we do not want residents to put themselves in harm’s way.”   

As EMSD’s preparedness initiatives take a central focus this month, the department is also celebrating the launch of an updated Emergency Communications Center (ECC), commonly referred to as “the Tank,” which serves as a central coordination center for NYCHA’s internal departments as well as a primary point of contact for NYC Emergency Management and other City agencies. The new ECC will function as a watch center during normal NYCHA business hours, monitoring daily operations and providing incident notifications. During the after hours, including weekends and holidays, the ECC functions more as an operations center, serving as a dispatch center, coordinating response to incidents across NYCHA, and assisting with Operations Support Services response, among other responsibilities.  

Residents with after-hours emergencies should continue to call the Customer Contact Center at (718) 707-7771 (or 911, if appropriate) so the ECC can address emergencies appropriately.