During the August 14, 2003 blackout, Arlene Harrison and neighbors checked buildings around Gramercy Park to see whether older or infirm residents needed help. Other volunteers were trying to offer assistance, but there was no clear place for everyone to connect.
A September report described the Gramercy Park Block Association working on a central coordination point. The problem was not a shortage of willing people; it was helping those people find one another and reliable information.
By August 2004, contemporary reports described an organized emergency-response team and a call for volunteers. Harrison worked with Tom Pike of Calvary, Rabbi Daniel Alder of the Brotherhood Synagogue, Major Randall Davis of the Salvation Army’s Parkside residence and Edward Maynard of the Gramercy Park Hotel.
The plan connected community gathering places with information from the 13th Precinct, and anticipated food, water and support for residents and responders. It built on relationships that had sustained the September 11 relief effort.
An August 26 follow-up reported a substantial response to recruitment. The saved record includes the earlier planning article, the Block Association’s August 25 covering letter and the reports on the team’s formation.
The sources record planning and recruitment, but no later emergency deployment.