Community preparedness — New York
Cornell Cooperative Extension in all 62 counties. CERT programs from Buffalo to Brooklyn. Ham radio operators who kept Staten Island connected when Sandy knocked out everything else. New York's preparedness network is older, deeper, and more diverse than most people realize. Here's how to find it.
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Community calendar
CERT trainings, canning workshops, ham radio exams, garden workdays, first aid classes. Events from local organizations that build community resilience.
62
County extension offices
4
NWS forecast offices
100+
Amateur radio clubs
4
Red Cross regions
Where to plug in
New York's preparedness network spans everything from the dense urban block associations of Brooklyn to the volunteer fire departments of the Adirondacks. A CERT volunteer in Manhattan trains for high-rise scenarios. A Master Gardener in Tompkins County teaches cold-climate food production. The programs below start at the county level because that's where the knowledge is specific.
Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) operates associations in all 62 New York counties plus New York City, making it one of the most comprehensive extension systems in the country. CCE connects the research of Cornell University and Cornell AgriTech to communities statewide through programs in agriculture, nutrition, youth development (4-H), community and economic development, and environmental stewardship. From urban farming workshops in the Bronx to maple syrup production in the North Country, programming is tailored to local conditions.
The Master Gardener Volunteer program trains cohorts in every region who then staff plant clinics, demonstration gardens, and community workshops. The Master Food Preserver program teaches safe canning, freezing, and dehydrating. County associations in Tompkins, Onondaga, Monroe, Erie, and Dutchess are among the most active, but every county offers core programming. In New York City, CCE runs programs through all five boroughs focused on urban agriculture, nutrition education, and youth development.
The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) coordinates the state's emergency management program, supporting county-level offices across all 62 counties. DHSES provides training, planning support, and coordination for natural disasters, severe weather, and infrastructure emergencies. New York City's Emergency Management department operates one of the largest and most sophisticated municipal EM programs in the world.
CERT programs are active across the state. NYC Emergency Management runs one of the largest CERT programs in the country, training thousands of volunteers across all five boroughs. Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, Erie, Monroe, and Albany counties also run robust programs. After Superstorm Sandy in 2012, CERT enrollment surged across downstate New York as residents saw the gap between disaster impact and official response. Training is free and typically runs 8 sessions over several weeks.
Multiple Red Cross regions serve New York. The Greater New York Region is one of the largest in the country, covering New York City, Long Island, the lower Hudson Valley, and parts of northern New Jersey. The Western New York Region covers Buffalo, Rochester, and the Finger Lakes. The Central New York Region serves Syracuse and the Southern Tier. The Northeastern New York Region covers Albany, the Capital District, and the Adirondacks.
During Superstorm Sandy, Red Cross opened more than 250 shelters across the eastern seaboard, with the heaviest concentration in the New York metro area. Volunteers served over 17 million meals and snacks and distributed more than 7 million relief items. The Greater New York chapter responds to an average of three home fires per day in the five boroughs alone. Volunteer entry points include shelter operations, disaster assessment, feeding, and blood drives.
New York has over 100 amateur radio clubs across three ARRL sections: Eastern New York, NYC/Long Island, and Western New York, all within the Atlantic Division. During Sandy, ham operators on Staten Island and the Rockaways provided the only reliable communication link for neighborhoods where cell towers were destroyed and landlines drowned. ARES teams staffed shelters, relayed welfare messages, and coordinated supply distribution when no other system was working.
Getting licensed costs $15 for the exam and $35 for a basic handheld radio. Study at hamstudy.org, then find a local exam session. Clubs in New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, and the Hudson Valley host exams monthly. The annual Rochester Hamfest is one of the largest ham radio gatherings in the Northeast.
Four NWS forecast offices serve New York: Albany (eastern New York, the Hudson Valley, and the Capital District), Binghamton (central New York and the Southern Tier), Buffalo (western New York, the Finger Lakes, and the Niagara Frontier), and New York City/Upton (the five boroughs, Long Island, and the lower Hudson Valley). Each office runs SKYWARN spotter training, typically in late winter or spring.
New York's weather hazards include lake-effect snow that can drop 3 feet in 24 hours on the Buffalo metro, nor'easters that slam Long Island and the Hudson Valley, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes across the Southern Tier and Central New York, and flooding from rapid snowmelt in the Adirondacks. Trained spotters provide the ground-truth that helps the NWS issue timely warnings. Training is free, runs about 2 hours, and is offered in-person and online.
New York has over 1,000 public library locations across 23 library systems, overseen by the New York State Library. The New York Public Library (Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island), Brooklyn Public Library, and Queens Public Library together form the largest public library network in the country. Upstate systems like the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library and Rochester Public Library run extensive community programming including seed libraries, tool lending, and disaster preparedness events.
The SUNY system includes 30 community colleges across the state, and CUNY operates 7 community colleges in New York City. These institutions offer affordable continuing education in EMT certification, fire science, electrical work, welding, culinary arts, and other practical trades. Whether you're in midtown Manhattan or rural St. Lawrence County, a community college is within reach.
Why this matters
On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy made landfall near Atlantic City and pushed a record storm surge into New York Harbor. The surge flooded Lower Manhattan, devastated the Rockaways and Staten Island's South Shore, submerged coastal neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens, and knocked out power to millions across the metro area. Forty-three people died in New York City alone.
In the days that followed, before FEMA could fully mobilize, it was community organizations that filled the gap. CERT volunteers on Staten Island conducted door-to-door welfare checks in Midland Beach and New Dorp, finding elderly residents trapped in flooded ground-floor apartments. Ham radio operators provided the only communication link for neighborhoods where every cell tower was down. In the Rockaways, neighbors organized impromptu supply distribution points using donated food and bottled water.
Mutual aid networks that had never used the term "mutual aid" sprang up organically. Occupy Sandy, born from existing community organizing networks, mobilized thousands of volunteers within days to gut flooded homes, distribute supplies, and provide hot meals. Red Cross opened over 250 shelters and served more than 17 million meals. Extension agents helped coordinate cleanup and flood recovery information through existing county networks.
Sandy proved that in a city of 8 million people, the response that matters most is the one that starts on your block. Every organization on this page exists so that when the next storm comes, your neighborhood is already organized.
The foundation
Community resilience begins with a household that can take care of itself. Cover the first 72 hours, then extend outward to your street, your neighborhood, your town.
Start with the first 72 hours