Verizon told N.Y.C. officials that it will add a layer of review ...

service to large parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island for 2 hours on a Fri. evening. Verizon said a data entry mistake by a Verizon technician doing a network upgrade misrouted 911 traffic to a bank, which was closed. No loss of life or property was attributed to the 911 failure, because city emergency officials activated a backup plan immediately on noticing a sudden sharp dropoff in 911 call volume from the 3 boroughs. Among other things, the city put notices out via the city’s radio and TV stations about a 911 failure and gave alternate emergency numbers. The city also alerted the operators of its 311 system, normally for non-emergency public safety calls, to watch for emergency calls. It also worked out temporary arrangements with Verizon so that callers in the affected area who dialed “0” for operator were transferred to the Manhattan 911 center, which wasn’t affected by the glitch. After service was restored, however, Mayor Michael Bloomberg demanded an explanation for the mishap and how a repeat would be prevented. A Verizon spokesman said that network changes being made in areas where 911 facilities might be affected will be subject to additional cross-checks by co-workers and supervisors, to ensure against adverse impacts on 911. Verizon said it will make a full report on the incident to its regulators. Bloomberg said no technology is perfect: “You have to have backups and I think we did have backups.” But City Councilman Pater Vallone, chmn. of the public safety committee, said the failure has heightened concerns about the need for a modern backup 911 facility, adequate system funding and Verizon’s performance as 911 carrier.