REBNY leads industry effort to combat terrorism threats

The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) continues to lead the real estate industry's effort to educate building owners and managers, as well as real estate brokers, about protecting their buildings from future terrorist attacks.

REBNY has been working with federal and city officials since 9-11 to help its members take preventative measures.

Members have participated in educational seminars as well as planning meetings with key officials to determine ways building owners and managers can ensure the highest level of safety and security in residential and commercial buildings.

Shortly after 9-11, in early 2002, REBNY held a meeting with the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to discuss best security practices, communication between the industry and government agencies, and ways to work together.

More than 750 residential and commercial building managers participated in seminars held in June 2002, including at least 400 on the residential side, that educated employees about what to look for, how to report suspicious behavior and to whom to report. The seminars, four sessions in total, were led by representatives of the NYPD Office of Counter Terrorism.

REBNY's efforts to inform its members of potential threats and how to prevent them has continued since the seminars were held in 2002, in partnership with the Real Estate Roundtable and other national real estate organizations.

REBNY sponsored a meeting with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Department of Homeland Security, and the NYPD Office of Counter Terrorism in May 2003 to discuss the real estate industry's role in homeland security. Representatives discussed the industry's partnership with the Department of Homeland Security to inform REBNY members of potential threats and how to prevent them. In April 2004, REBNY's Residential Management Council invited Lt. Christopher Higgins of the NYPD Terrorist Incident Prevention Unit to discuss terrorist threats in high-rise buildings.

The training seminars held in 2002 utilized declassified FBI documents to inform participants about specific plots by terrorists to collapse apartment buildings. Trainers referred to Al-Qaeda Manuscripts which detailed plans for operatives to rent apartments and attempt to burn buildings down.

Through the seminars, building owners, managers, and real estate brokers, learned to spot suspicious behaviors and how to report them to the proper authorities. Participants also learned to prevent the use of fraudulent documents, which may have aided terrorists in renting apartments.