House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) unveiled a “Resilient City” plan for Sea Bright, NJ to serve as a blueprint for other municipalities planning for future storms. Sea Bright’s communications and utility infrastructure were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, causing a breakdown of cellular and wired telephones, television and internet services.
Under the “Resilient City” plan, Verizon will deploy small cells, providing more redundancy and a foundation for future 5G networks. New Jersey Natural Gas installed a new distribution pipeline in Sea Bright and Jersey Central Power & Light has raised an electrical substation to avoid storm damage.
The partners plan to take one of New Jersey’s most vulnerable towns and turn it into the country’s first resilient city, they said in the announcement.
“Resiliency, redundancy, reliability and proper planning are the key elements of emergency management,” said Verizon Vice President Sam Delgado. “Verizon is here today to discuss our plans for ensuring that our landline and wireless services in Sea Bright are sustainable and resilient in the face of any future storms.”
Pallone and his staff have been working with Sea Bright’s government and industry over the past two years on the plan. From touring disaster sites after Sandy, “we learned that no silver bullet can prepare us for any emergency. But, with the public and private sectors working together, we can strive to make sure the citizens of Sea Bright and all of New Jersey are safer next time disaster strikes.”
December 13, 2016
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