So what has changed since 9/11?? With NYC a number 1 target for terrorists, a small scale blizzard shuts down the 911 emergency centers???? You should be afraid, very afraid….

Mayor: Blizzard ‘overwhelmed’ 911 system

New Yorkers made more than 49,000 calls to the city’s emergency response system on Dec. 27; Mayor Michael Bloomberg blames callers with non-emergencies for overwhelming the lines.

A fire truck on Fulton Avenue in Brooklyn on the morning of Dec. 27.

(Bloomberg) – New York City’s emergency-response system was “overwhelmed” by the Dec. 26 blizzard that dumped 20 inches of snow, left cars and buses marooned and prohibited many ambulances from reaching sick or injured residents, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
“You can give us any grade you want,” Mr. Bloomberg told reporters at a press conference at a Bronx hardware store on Wednesday. “We did not do as good a job as we wanted to do, or as the city has the right to expect.”
The city’s 911 emergency-response system received 49,478 calls on Dec. 27, the sixth-largest number ever, and Mr. Bloomberg promised an inquiry after the snow is cleared. Almost all the city’s main roads were passable by midday, the mayor said, while in some outlying neighborhoods nearly three-fourths of the smaller roads were still covered in snow.
“I am extremely dissatisfied with the way our emergency-response systems performed,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “In some cases it took hours to respond to serious requests.”
The mayor said the problem was exacerbated by people who didn’t heed his message to call 911 only for emergencies.
“Unfortunately, many people didn’t listen, and that overwhelmed the system,” he said.
The biggest difference between this storm and others that hit the city in the past few years was the large number of stuck cars, trucks and buses, which made street-clearing more difficult, he said. More than 600 buses were stalled in snow yesterday.
When asked about reports that people died because emergency responders were unable to get through unplowed streets, the mayor said, “The ambulances just couldn’t get there in time. That’s unfortunately something we just have to deal with.”
Most roads will be cleared by 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty said at the press conference. By 7 a.m. Thursday, four days after the snow stopped falling, all the city’s streets will be plowed, he said.
More than 20 inches of snow fell in Central Park from Dec. 26 through the early hours of Dec. 27, making it the fifth-largest snowfall on record for the city, Mr. Doherty said. The post-Christmas storm led to the cancellation of almost 8,000 flights.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn called for hearings on the blizzard reaction on Jan. 10.
“The collective storm response was not anywhere near up to the standards New Yorkers are accustomed to,” Ms. Quinn said, in a statement. “This is unacceptable. New Yorkers have serious questions about the city’s snow emergency policy and response.” http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20101229/FREE/101229921#