NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday defended New York City’s emergency management agency for putting out a public service announcement about surviving a nuclear attack.
Pushing back on the idea that the PSA could be considered “alarmist,” Adams said it’s always good to give New Yorkers tools to protect themselves against possible threats.
“I’m a big believer in better safe than sorry,” Adams said. “I take my hat off to (the Office of Emergency Management). OEM took a very proactive step and said, ‘Let’s be prepared.’”
Adams mentioned the war in Ukraine, an apparent reference to the fact that Russia has refused to rule out a nuclear strike under certain conditions.
While stressing that there are no known nuclear strike threats to the city, Adams said the Big Apple is always a prime target for global actors.
“We’re still one of the top terrorist threats,” he said. “We always have to be prepared as New Yorkers.”
The ad, rolled out by OME on Monday, starts by depicting a host standing on an empty city street as sirens wail in the background.
“There’s been a nuclear attack. Don’t ask me how or why,” the host said. “What do we do?”
The 90-second PSA offers three basic steps that New Yorkers should take if NYC gets attacked: Get inside, stay inside and stay tuned.
“No, staying in the car is not an option,” the host says.
The ad instructs people to get off the street, go to their house or apartment, stay away from windows and hunker down.
Anyone who was outside when the blast hit should remove and bag all clothing to avoid the danger of nuclear contamination or radioactive dust and debris.
It warns New Yorkers to stay indoors until officials say it’s safe to come outside.
“All right? You got this,” the host concludes.
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