A high-tech program will soon let FDNY crews rushing to fires instantly download the layouts of burning buildings and give street cops quick access to suspects’ fingerprints.
The city is putting the finishing touches on a $500 million wireless network, dubbed NYCWiN, that will cover 70 percent of the Big Apple’s streets by April and 95 percent by summer.
“Both agencies have mobile-devices vehicles, but they are very limited because of the speed at which data can be transferred to them. You can’t get a warrant picture downloaded,” Paul Cosgrave, commissioner of the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications testified yesterday before the City Council.
“In the future,” Cosgrave added, “we will be able to provide pictures of the buildings, layout of the buildings, blueprint of the building that sort of thing.”
NYPD Chief Thomas Gangone, meanwhile, described the police as “very, very excited that this is upon us.” “There is a mobile laptop computer in every police car now,” he said, “but it’s limited.” Emergency responders will be able to download information 50 to 100 times faster than they can now, and the system will be used for all city operations and not just public safety services, officials said.
For instance, the Department of Environmental Protection’s automated water readings would be supported by the network, which would be able to detect water leaks.
NYCWiN also runs an automatic vehicle-location program that can track cars and provide real-time maps.