By Michael Gartland
New York Daily News
NEW YORK 鈥� The is now partnering with to explore how to better use artificial intelligence to track traffic patterns in an effort to reduce emergency response times.
The new, , which announced Friday, is aimed at leaning on NYU鈥檚 expertise and incorporating additional data from the university that the city did not previously have access to.
鈥淲e have been doing this for a while internally. It鈥檚 really a matter of 鈥� the AI space is one that we just don鈥檛 have experts internally that can go to that next level,鈥� Kavanagh said Friday during a City Hall press briefing. 鈥淎lso by partnering with NYU, we get access to some datasets that private companies have, like Waze.鈥�
is an app that uses AI to help drivers identify the quickest way to get from one point to another.
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The partnership with New York University comes as FDNY response times have been slower.
According to , the average response to all emergencies took 5 minutes and 53 seconds during a four-month period in 2023 鈥� compared to an average of 5 minutes and 43 seconds during the same period in the prior year. In fiscal year 2021, response times were even lower 鈥� on average it took FDNY emergency responder 5 minutes 23 seconds to arrive.
Joseph Chow, associate director of , the 鈥檚 transportation center, said in a written statement that the partnership is an example of how the school can 鈥渃reate engineering solutions that improve urban mobility and make life better for all New Yorkers.鈥�
鈥淐ommunities like Harlem have been underserved in the past,鈥� Chow said. 鈥淭hey can see significant benefits from faster emergency vehicle responses.鈥�
The primary reason for increased response times is traffic, according to Kavanagh, who added that increased call volumes are also exacerbating the problem.
鈥淯nderstanding not only that traffic is growing, but where and why and in what neighborhoods and being able to predict even how to place our resources, based on those traffic patterns, is really critical,鈥� Kavanagh said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 control traffic, of course, but we can weigh in on where our resources are.鈥�
FDNY spokeswoman Amanda Farinacci said the city鈥檚 partnership with NYU is being funded with $90,000 from the U.S. Transportation Department and $56,000 in FDNY personnel costs. The only city manpower staffing it, she added, is through the department鈥檚 data team.
Andrew Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, slammed Kavanagh鈥檚 announcement as not nearly enough in addressing response times, which he said have led to a 7% dip in the number of people the FDNY has resuscitated on cardiac arrest and choking calls over the last four years. That dip, he said, translates to 2,000 less lives saved in 2023 when compared to 2019.
鈥淣ew York City has been under-resourcing the FDNY for decades. The department is smaller than it was 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago,鈥� he said. 鈥淓very firefighter knows the reason response times are up is because runs are up, resources are down and bike lines and outdoor dining have screwed up traffic patterns.鈥�
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