Welcome

Do you wish to interact more with your community?  Activity in ARECS is a great way to meet your neighbors.

There is also the satisfaction of helping those in need of assistance.  73 and hope to hear you on the air.

 

 

Our Mission

The over-arching mission of New York City ARECS is to provide timely, quality, and proficient auxiliary radio

communications to served agencies and organizations--our "clients"--for a variety of emergency situations and

special events.  We are all personally bound to public service with a commitment to our local communities.

 

 

Who We Are & Why We Exist

The New York City Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Service (NYC-ARECS) is a relatively recent (2003) volunteer organization that already has more than a decade of experience behind it.  How is that possible?  Well, many of our founding members have been active in public service amateur radio operations for at least that long (some since the late 1980's), and they bring their experience to this newly formed group.

NYC-ARECS is a custom-tailored solution to the challenges of volunteer emergency and event communication in the nation's largest city.  While the founding NYC-ARECS members have extensive experience working with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), ARECS is not affiliated with either of those groups.

ARES and RACES were created half a century ago by the American Radio Relay League and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, respectively, and "franchised" around the country.  As distinguished as ARES and RACES have become nationwide, the "one-size-fits-all" approach sometimes does not adapt well to local circumstances.  New York City, a single, densely-populated municipality that covers five semi-autonomous counties, has unique communications needs that ARECS is specifically designed to address.

ARECS is a member-run organization.  ARECS members citywide elect a President and Secretary for the group each year, and members in each borough elect a Vice-President for that borough.  All of the officers are bound by the ARECS Constitution and By-Laws, which can be amended only with the approval of the members.

 

Frequently Asked Questions about NYC-ARECS

Q: I like public-service hamming, and want to work events.  Will ARECS offer that?

A: Not only will we offer it, we strongly encourage it!  The official list of ARECS events is posted on the EVENTS page.  The founding members of ARECS include the ham radio organizers for over a dozen events around New York City.  These include several walk-athons and bike-athons, a major triathlon, and an outrigger canoe race (no kidding!).  Join ARECS if you want to enjoy all the action.

Q: I'm currently a member of NYC ARES or RACES.  Do I have to quit them to be a member of ARECS?

A: Absolutely not.  If you are a satisfied member of ARES or RACES, there is no need to quit.  Nor is membership in either group a prerequisite for joining ARECS.  ARECS is completely independent of both ARES and RACES.

Q: If there's an emergency and ham operators are needed, will ARECS be active?

A: As you'll see in the Constitution and By-Laws, emergency preparedness and training are very important parts of the ARECS mission.  The founding members have already worked closely with several potential "served agencies," including Citizen Emergency Response Teams, Disaster Assistance Teams, hospitals, the American Red Cross, the U.S. Coast Guard and it's Auxiliary, the Salvation Army, and the NYC Office of Emergency Management.  ARECS founders were heavily involved in leading the ham radio responses to the 9/11 attacks, the Staten Island barge fire, the August 2003 Northeast blackout, and numerous other disasters.  We are confident that many disaster services organizations will be working with us.

Q: Does ARECS have a club callsign?

A: Yes.  For emergencies and some special events, our FCC-issued club callsign is WC2WTC, in memory of 9/11 (WTC = World Trade Center).  We also have the callsign of WC2OEM.

Q: I see in the By-Laws that I have to maintain "active" membership by meeting certain standards.  If I can't make that commitment, will I be thrown out?

A: No.  If you cannot maintain "active" membership, your name will be moved to a list of "inactive" members, who are considered full members of the group, except that they cannot vote.  Inactive members can participate in events, come to meetings, check into nets, and so on - and if they do enough of those things, they will automatically be put back on the "active" roster.

Q: If there's an emergency and ARECS gets called, will I have to participate in order to remain an active member?

A: No.  Nobody can "draft" you into an emergency response, and there is no penalty if you can't make it.  Obviously, we hope that hams interested in serving the public will want to help out in times of need.  In emergencies, though, it's perfectly understandable if some people can't.

Q: Can non-hams be members of ARECS?

A: Yes, and we encourage it.  They will be "auxiliary" members until they get their amateur radio licenses, but we will be offering licensing classes and VE sessions regularly, and Elmering on demand.

Q: Do I have to be a resident of New York City to join ARECS?

A: Yes.  NYC-ARECS members must live in one of the five boroughs of New York City.

 

 

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