Former FDNY commissioner Thomas Von Essen, who presided over New York’s Bravest during 9/11, has been named head of the FEMA region that serves Puerto Rico — making him the new leader of the hurricane recovery efforts.
“There’s a lot of work to do,” Von Essen told The Post. “I’m excited to go down there to continue the work that they’ve done, that they’ve started.”
Speaking Sunday — a little over a week after Hurricane Maria pounded Puerto Rico and the rest of the Caribbean — Von Essen described how the devastation that the storm left in its wake ultimately made him take the job as the new head of FEMA Region 2, which also serves New York, New Jersey and the US Virgin Islands.