The new Office of Emergency Management at 165 Cadman Plaza East was built with part of the $20 billion in federal aid that the city received after 9-11. This Brooklyn building is OEM’s first permanent home since the destruction of the World Trade Center, where it was since 1996. The New York Sun writes,

“The new building is part of the extensive renovation in recent years of Cadman Plaza, the civic heart of Brooklyn: first with the restoration of its landmarked General Post Office, followed by the opening last year of the Federal Building Courthouse, designed by César Pelli.

Civic centers throughout America have always demonstrated a marked predilection for limestone facing, especially in their government buildings. In this regard the OEM, like Mr. Pelli’s new courthouse, does not disappoint. However much its modernist vocabulary might distinguish it from many of its neighbors, the building has a consoling conservatism to its lithic pallor. Although the relative complexity of its façade suggests that this is not your grandfather’s municipal architecture, that complexity politely resolves itself at last within the structure as a whole.”

According to a City Hall press release: “Watch Command personnel maintain direct communication with surrounding jurisdictions and the New York State Emergency Management Office, as well as monitor radio frequencies and dispatch systems for the New York City Police and Fire Departments, and 911 calls. Newscasts from cable and satellite TV are constantly monitored to stay aware of what is being reported locally, nationally and internationally. Additionally, Watch Command tracks New York City weather conditions through the National Weather Service.”