A $45,000 Foundation grant in 2002 helped the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) implement the recommendations of the then-recent McKinsey study of what the FDNY should do to prepare for future catastrophic events. FDNY raised an additional $300,000 for this effort. Much of the money was used to initiate the development of a new Electronic Command Board (ECB). The FDNY believes that the replacement of mechanical by electronic command boards can have a dramatic positive impact on its command and control operations at emergencies.  A prototype with part of the desired functionality exists and detailed specifications for a fully developed ECB have been developed. The FDNY estimates it will need $450,000 to complete development and testing. A total of $300,000 is expected from other funders. This grant provides the balance requested by the FDNY to move this project forward. Project Director: Assistant Commissioner, Technology Development and Systems, NYC Fire Department.

A 2004 initiative of the New York Academy of Sciences was the launch of a Science and the City calendar, the first website in New York to provide a complete daily calendar of activities related to science events, including the arts, humanities, education, and the scientific community. This unique interdisciplinary gateway brings together for the first time the programmatic and informational assets of New York’s educational, cultural, technological, academic, and commercial science institutions into an attractive and user-friendly site. Not only will people learn about any scientific lectures taking place that day throughout the city, they will also discover theater or dance events related to science. This grant will enable the Academy to enhance the content and graphical interface of the calendar and to significantly expand its use. The Academy will seek to double coverage from an average of 100 events to 200 events a week. The grant will support staffing, content development, promotion/marketing, and user testing during the one-year grant period. Project Director: Ellis Rubinstein, President.

A 2004 $40,000 Foundation officer grant enabled the Academy to launch a “Women Investigators Network” and a “Minority Investigators Network” to help advance the careers of both academic and private sector women and minority scientists and engineers in New York City and environs. A focus group luncheon with more than 30 women scientists, engineers and others was held in June 2004 to launch the Women Investigators Network. A steering committee for the Network and a rich program of activities are planned. This supplementary grant will fund the first meeting of the Minority Investigator Network. It will also enable the Academy to hold four or five meetings of each Network over the coming year. The Academy expects that it will by then have other funding, largely from interested companies, to support continued operation of the Networks. Project Director: Rashid Shaikh, Program Manager.

Project Rebirth is an innovative effort to record the rebuilding of Ground Zero, the site of the destruction of the twin towers in New York City, minute by minute, over a decade. It uses six time-lapse cameras, positioned strategically around the site, to record an image every five minutes, 24 hours a day. A 2003 Foundation grant enabled the creation of a website for Project Rebirth in order to allow millions of people who are not able to make the trip to Ground Zero to log on and “visit” the site in real time, and to witness and learn about the reconstruction and its engineering and other challenges. The new website went live in September 2004. After one month, over a quarter of a million viewers had visited the site, including thousands from Europe and Asia. The current grant will enable Project Rebirth to develop the website by including weekly updates of articles and photos, new film footage and slide shows, an “ask the expert” section, and a guest book. Interviews will be featured with various site workers, including electricians, engineers, construction workers, and site managers. The Port Authority’s General Manager of Construction and his entire team are cooperating as advisors on the engineering, urban planning, and architectural issues involved in the rebuilding. Project Director: Jim Whitaker, President, Motion Pictures, Imagine Entertainment (Beverly Hills, CA).

The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation is the nonprofit entity established in April 2003 that will raise funds for and coordinate the planning and construction of the memorial, the interpretive museum, and four cultural institutions to be located on the World Trade Center site. Most of the Foundation’s initial operating and fundraising expenses will be paid by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the joint State-City corporation created by New York Governor Pataki and then-Mayor Giuliani to help plan and coordinate the rebuilding and revitalization of lower Manhattan. A $6.3 million target has been set by the Foundation for its first phase of fundraising. Building of the World Trade Center Memorial and placing of the four cultural institutions (Joyce Theater, Signature Theater, Drawing Center, and International Freedom Center) on the World Trade Center site can be expected to yield large benefits to New York City. This grant represents the Sloan Foundation’s contribution to the project. Project Director: John C. Whitehead, Chairman, Board of Directors, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

To help launch a network of economic development officers of New York City’s knowledge-based institutions. Project Director: Ira Rubinstein, Chairman.

To enable SUNY Downstate Medical Center and its partners to continue advancing the proposed Center for Excellence in Biotechnology at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. Project Director: Eva Cramer, Vice President for Biotechnology and Scientific Affairs; Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center.

To support the work of the National Academies’ Committee on Human Rights. Project Director: Carol Corillon, Director, Committee on Human Rights, The National Academies.

To help launch women investigators and minority investigators networks. Project Director: Rashid Shaikh, Program Manager.

To enable the Open Accessible Space Information System to develop a strategic plan for expansion and to achieve sustainability. Project Director:  Steven Romalewski, Director, Community Mapping Assistance Project.

To plan for the next steps to revitalize the New York City apparel manufacturing industry. Project Director: Michael Fralix, President.