Alliance for Response, NYC (AFRNYC) is a local organization focused on connecting emergency responders with resources to guide and assist them with emergency preparedness, materials restoration, and strategically minimizing damage whenever possible by professional remediation.

 AFRNYC follows the model of the National Alliance for Response from the American Institute for Conservation, as outlined below. 

Floods, hurricanes, fires, and other disasters can harm or destroy irreplaceable cultural and historical treasures. But the institutions that safeguard books, documents, photographs, artifacts, and other historical collections can prepare for emergencies to avert or at least minimize damage.

One of the keys to preparedness is a relationship with first responders and emergency managers. They are first on the scene at any event that threatens life or safety, and they represent a local system for planning, response, and recovery that has often overlooked a community’s cultural and historic assets.

Launched in 2003, the [National] Alliance for Response initiative remains effective by:

• encouraging institutions to complete disaster plans and train for emergencies;
• creating cooperative disaster assistance networks among museums, libraries, archives, and historical properties and sites;
• raising awareness of the importance of cultural heritage in communities;
• influencing official emergency policies and plans. (American Institute for Conservation, 2024).