Somebody should tell Mayor Bloomberg that the National Guard is already here — even though he doesn’t want them marching through Brooklyn.
Hizzoner dismissed requests by borough officials to call in the reserve military force to help control looting in Sandy-ravaged neighborhoods like Coney Island — claiming New York’s Finest doesn’t need the assistance — although hundreds of guardsmen have been toiling in a Brooklyn-Queens task force since Sunday.
But the militia is just doing its job, according to a spokesman.
“We’re just part of the state’s emergency response tool kit,” said Eric Durr.
Durr said the troops aren’t here to keep the peace, but to transport cops and firefighters in military vehicles through obstructed roads, establish food and water distribution centers, and do a door-to-door sweep of evacuation zones to check on residents.
Dozens of guardsmen helped to evacuate more than 250 seniors from the Shore View Nursing Home in Brighton Beach in stretchers and wheelchairs after the facility lost power yesterday.
Borough President Markowitz applauded the guard’s arrival, and called for the unit to have a greater role in helping the borough recover from the worst storm in recent memory, including setting up more food and water facilities, and helping de-clog mangled sewer lines.
“We want them to help return people’s lives to normalcy,” he said.
Reach reporter Will Bredderman at (718) 260–4507 or e-mail him at wbredderman@cnglocal.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/WillBredderman
