NYS Public Health Legal Manual: A Guide for Judges, Attorneys ...

NEW YORK STATE PUBLIC HEALTH LEGAL MANUAL § 1.98
such actions as may be necessary for the health or the safety of the City
and its residents. Such procedures, orders or actions may include, but are
not limited to, exercising the [Board of Health’s] authority to suspend,
alter or modify any provision of [the New York City Health Code], or
exercising any other power of the Board of Health to prevent, mitigate,
control or abate an emergency” until the Board has an opportunity to
meet]. The City Commissioner’s emergency powers under section 3.01(d)
are “separate and apart” from the Mayor’s emergency powers under Executive
Law § 24, see § 3.01(e).
[1.98] 3. State Defense Emergency Act [SDEA]
The SDEA applies only to “an attack . . . by an enemy or foreign
nation upon the United States.” Unconsolidated Laws [Unconsol. Laws]
§ 9103(2) [an “attack” is “[a]ny attack, actual or imminent, or series of
attacks by an enemy or foreign nation upon the United States causing, or
which may cause, substantial damage or injury to civilian property or persons
in the United States in any manner by sabotage or by use of bombs,
shellfire, or nuclear, radiological, chemical, bacteriological, or biological
means or other weapons or processes”].
[1.99] a. Civil Defense Plans
Unconsolidated Laws §§ 9121(3) [State civil defense commission to
adopt “a comprehensive plan for the civil defense of the state”; detailed
listing of what must be included in the plan] (The state civil defense commission
is now the state disaster preparedness commission established
pursuant to section 21 of the Executive Law. See Exec. Law § 21(4).);
9122(1) and (2) [Every county and city must “prepare and make effective”
a civil defense plan and create a civil defense office]; 9123 [Every county
and city must (1)(a) create a plan that provides for “full integration of existing
resources, of manpower, materials, facilities and services into a
civil defense force and a detailed plan for civil defense operations in the
event of attack”; (4) “Equip and train the members of all municipal agencies
for the performance of specific civil defense duties during and subsequent
to attack”; (5) “Organize, approve, recruit, equip and train volunteer
agencies for civil defense purposes”]. See § 9103(6) [definition of “civil
defense forces”—“agencies, public officers, employees, and enrolled civil
defense volunteers, all having duties and responsibilities under or pursu-
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