Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican running for governor, says the fatal shooting at Brown University shows it’s high time New York expands the county’s panic‑button system to every public school and college in the state.
He’s urging Albany and Gov. Kathy Hochul to adopt Nassau’s RAVE “panic‑button” technology, a one‑touch emergency alert that instantly informs local police, coordinates a response, and locks down campuses.
“In Nassau County, we took proactive steps to give our schools and first responders the tools they need to save lives,” Blakeman said. He added that the system should be nationwide, calling it a “failure of priorities” that has left students unchecked and response times sluggish.
The Long Island program, enacted in 2016 by former Republican executive Ed Mangano, lets schools trigger an instant emergency workflow: alerts, vital details, lockdowns, and real‑time camera feeds for officers.
Hochul’s office has highlighted its own gun‑safety measures, including tough national‑level gun laws, a strong Red Flag program, and the 2022 Alyssa’s Law, which encourages school districts to add silent panic alarms.
But Blakeman argues that without a statewide requirement, the technology’s benefits remain limited. “Our children should never come second — New York’s families deserve the same level of protection we’ve delivered in Nassau County,” he said, promising, “As Governor, I will bring this proven, commonsense approach to every school district in New York — there’s nothing more important than protecting our kids.”
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