NEW YORK CITY CLOTHING BANK DELIVERS AID
TO PASSENGERS OF FLIGHT 1549 HUDSON RIVER PLANE CRASH
NEW YORK, January 16, 2009— New York City Clothing Bank provided new, never worn sweaters, pants, socks and gloves to over 100 passengers of the Hudson River plane crash who were in need of dry clothing.
As a key partner in New York City Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), NYC Clothing Bank was called upon by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management minutes after the incident, as part of the City’s Emergency Response Program. Through the Emergency Response Program, NYC Clothing Bank helps the City set up and staff a Disaster Assistance Service Center in the affected community. NYC Clothing Bank is the only partnering agency in the New York City chapter of VOAD whose primary responsibility is to distribute new, never-worn clothing during an emergency.
“The NYC Clothing Bank has served an important role in disaster response in New York City for several years. Most recently, following the emergency landing of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, the Clothing Bank responded and very quickly, providing clothing for 100 individuals,” said Joseph Bruno, commissioner of New York’s Office of Emergency Management.
Flight passenger Stewart Wallace, Vice Chairman of Wachovia Investment Banking, was very grateful to NYC Clothing Bank for the clothes he received. “Some of us had fallen into the water, and we were in desperate need of dry clothing,” said Wallace. “We were soaking wet when we arrived on shore, and shortly thereafter, NYC Clothing Bank provided blue warm-up suits and socks, allowing us to change out of our wet clothes. It’s incredible that people were able to arrive on the scene so quickly with dry clothes and socks.”
Contact
Olivia Melikhov
NYC Clothing Bank
omelikhov@hunterpr.com
(212) 679-6600 ext. 259
Created in 1986 as a mayoral initiative under Mayor Ed Koch and now managed by Peter Young Housing, Industries & Treatment, New York City Clothing Bank is the only program in New York City to distribute new clothing and merchandise to those in need. In addition to annually distributing up to $10 million worth of new apparel, toys and other goods, New York City Clothing Bank is active in New York’s emergency response initiatives and will soon be launching its own warehouse training program. For more information, visit www.newyorkcityclothingbank.org
