marked a critical step in New York City's effort to plan ahead for long-term housing after a catastrophic disaster. During his tenure, Commissioner Bruno has successfully coordinated the City's responses to a variety of emergency and planned incidents. He headed the City's plan to maintain order during the 2005 New York City transit strike – three days that left New Yorkers with no subway service and minimal bus transportation. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, he oversaw the development and operation of a Family Assistance Center to assist victims who migrated to New York City. Commissioner Bruno also managed the City's responses to the Queens blackout in 2006, the 2007 New York City steam explosion in midtown Manhattan, the 2007 Brooklyn tornadoes, two major crane collapses in 2008, the outbreak of the H1N1 virus in 2009, and two tornados and a microburst in 2010. At the end of 2010 and into 2011, the commissioner coordinated responses to winter storms that led to a number of new winter storm initiatives, like the creation of a tow-truck task force and live video monitoring of road conditions. In August 2011, Commissioner Bruno coordinated the City's response to Hurricane Irene, the worst coastal storm to hit the City in more than a decade. The City took unprecedented steps to prepare for the storm, including a mandatory evacuation of more than 370,000 residents in low-lying areas and the entire Rockaway peninsula, a complete shutdown of public transportation, the evacuation of 7,000 patients from hospitals and nursing homes, and opening more than 80 evacuation centers and emergency shelters. The City's careful planning and coordinated response to Irene helped minimize the storm's damage. Highlighting the importance of preparedness, more than 10 million emergency preparedness guides have been distributed through the Ready New York campaign under Commissioner Bruno's leadership. And with the commissioner's support, NYC's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program has grown to over 56 teams and 1,500 volunteers trained in basic emergency response, preparedness, and first aid. Commissioner Bruno also added OEM's technological expertise to the creation of Notify NYC, an emergency notification system for New York City residents that uses text messaging, e-mail and phone to warn subscribers about emergencies. Joseph F. Bruno resigned as the Commissioner of Emergency Management on June 27, 2014. References Commissioners of the New York City Fire Department New York Supreme Court Justices Commissioners in New York City Disaster preparedness