New York City Hall Situation Room

City of New York, New York

Challenge:

In the basement dwellings of the historic New York City Hall lies what's known as the Situation Room. Starting in early 2007, the Situation Room was converted from the existing office space into a readily efficient communications hub for Mayor Michael Bloomberg. With literally hundreds of discrete sources of information being brought through the system, we integrated a solution that could result in a quick, easy to manage system for rapid decision making.

Solution:

From public communications to highly-secure exchanges, the space is fully equipped with the latest in advanced AV technology. These innovations allow for the maximum level of operational efficiency needed to monitor and translate ongoing events in New York City.

The Situation Room now includes an easy-to-use control interface for viewing multiple sources of media. With seating for 12 and protected IP-based systems, city leaders can securely connect with local and federal agency officials. The main feature of this confined space is a 1x2 Barco video wall, accompanied by 46" LCD displays on either side, as well as an HD camera. Back up display system units include a drop down projection screen and projector. Communications are seamlessly translated through rack-mounted equipment, housed in nine 10-foot tall racks nearby.

The mayor and his team can quickly monitor emergency-related events by viewing different system presets, allowing them to take a closer look at any selected image from the close circuit cameras located around the city as well as other sources. Through this set up, users can quickly access and view a single source, or multiple sources, simultaneously.

With the installation of encrypted videoconferencing for this space, the system design did have one particular challenge: a specific request for a 'clean' table. In this environment, ceiling mics actually worked very well to accommodate conferencing, with a Revo wireless mic system available for use as well. In addition, three motorized pop ups conveniently house connectivity for headphone jacks, network, touch panel and keyboard connections. Through the use of their wireless touch panels, and processors, Crestron technology has been very instrumental in meeting the quick response time needed for this environment. Photos by Spencer T. Tucker

Click here to view CBS Evening News' coverage.