NYC questions

[Penta]

OK...Pulling the wraps a bit more off my NYPD-story-project currently in the planning stage (described so awkwardly because I'm not close to deciding, nor am I likely to decide til I'm in the middle of it, whether it'll be one short story, a bunch of linked short stories, or formatted some other way entirely), some explanation followed by questions that aren't really LE-related (thus why this is in the "off-topic" section, not the "New York" section):

My plan at the moment is twofold:

The primary focus will be telling stories about the first days of a rookie cop in the NYPD of the modern (as in, set now) era, and the stories of the platoon he's a part of, and more broadly the stories of the precinct as a command. (Why a rookie? Because, IMHO, "Law and Order" and its spinoffs have the detectives covered, "CSI: NY" has CSU and the ECTs covered, I never was able to catch "Third Watch" while it was on, and the other specialized units seem a bit difficult to do stories on if you've no experience with em.) A bit of "day in the life", a bit of mystery, a bit thriller, a bit something else, it'll all depend on the individual short stories what lens (so to speak) gets used. I might start off trying to tell a mystery story and wind up telling a "day in the life" story, for example. Within this focus, I aim for realism on all counts, but will settle for "plausible" so far as characters go - sometimes stories just need a "larger than life" (or better-than-life) character. Despite that, I ask people-focused questions so I know the real basis on things - If I have to tweak and make a character larger-than-life, that'll happen on the fly, but my intent going in is to keep even character-based things realistic.

The secondary focus, no less important in the broader scheme of things but perhaps less likely to be the viewpoint through which stories are told, will be telling stories about the precinct, using the word in its sense as a territory. I'm considering a bunch of areas in NYC for this, but my first instinct is somewhere in Manhattan; one plan I have, more specifically, is fictionalizing the Midtown South "super-precinct" (I can find basically no info on it) and depicting it as an ordinary precinct, but I have a bunch of other possibilities.

In either the primary or secondary focus, though, I aim for realism grounding my stories - including research to get all the little details right. (For example, when I decide which precinct to fictionalize and steal info from, I'll be keeping track of what schools (public, private, parochial) are in the precinct, what firehouses, etc.) Thus my questions.

It's in thinking about that secondary focus, though, that I ask these specific questions...Diligent internet searching that had me up til the wee hours did not, in the end, answer these questions, so I was hoping people on the Internet, especially if they live in the city, might be able to help me find the answers (since I live in New Jersey and can't really (curse this gimpy body and my lack of money!) hike up to the city to get my questions answered myself...):

If you can't answer em all, that's okay, it'd be helpful just to get answers to some of them.

Sorting these by agencies I couldn't pull info from the maws of; Before anyone asks, I couldn't find a PI unit (in FDNY's case) or any equivalent sort of communications/public affairs office (in the other cases) to contact. (Except with FDNY Q1 and its subquestions, which is something I'm more looking for answers from "any random NYC resident" on, and wouldn't aim at FDNY anyway.)

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FDNY (including FDNY EMS):

1. For a "cop story" set, I'm thinking it might be helpful (just on the off-chance it becomes relevant) to know, before I go in, the things like "Where's the local firehouse", "Where's the local EMS base", "Which units cover the precinct's turf", etc. FDNY, naturally, doesn't have anything like NYPD's "precinct finder" gadget on its website...So I'll ask people living in the city:
1A. Is that actually important info to know? Do city-dwellers know which fire/EMS units cover them, where the local firehouse is, etc. in the same way they (seem to) know which NYPD precinct they live in?
1B. Is there any way to find out that info, regardless? Just in case it somehow becomes story-relevant, it'd be good to have handy.
1C. Do fire companies (or EMS units) in the FDNY actually have geographic areas of responsibility?

2. Rank/command structure. Even Wikipedia wasn't helpful here, where it was (as a starting point) with the NYPD. I was able through google to find the structure for firefighters...But no idea if EMS uses the same structure (given the merger), a different structure, what their structure in ranks or organization might be, or much of anything.

3. The basics are hard to find with FDNY (or FDNY EMS), overall. Like:
3A. What gear does a firefighter carry/wear on a call?
3B. What gear is carried by an engine company's apparatus?
3C. How do they decide who takes up what position on the apparatus (or at the fire scene)?
3D. Same question as 3A, but for EMS. (I've heard, years and years ago, that they wear bulletproof (or stabproof) vests, any truth to that if anyone knows?)
3E. Same as 3B, but for the various kinds of ambulance (like, hey, what drugs does an ALS ambulance have available?).
3F. Same as 3C, but now asking how they decide EMS crew roles.
3G. What kind of shifts do FFs (or EMS) work, anyway?

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DOE:

Yes, NYC city schools. Asking only about your average schools, not charters or alternative schools.

1. Okay...Are elementary and middle schools based on a geographic basis, or are they city-wide? The website was unclear (when I poked it around Midnight, granted - unless it had blinking lights I might have missed stuff).
2. High schools: Geographic? City-wide? Does it depend on the school? Again, website was unclear when I poked it. Actually, I couldn't find much of anything re high schools.
3. Bzuh. The DOE is under Mayoral control, run by the Schools Chancellor. I get that. But certainly, there's gotta be organization between the principal running "PS #/IS #" (or however they designate high schools) and the DOE central office. Is there? (No info on the website...)
4. Community input: Usually, in NJ, it's provided by the school board that runs the whole thing. But NYC, obviously, doesn't have that, and NYC's a big city anyway. So...I notice the Community Boards more generally - is there any sort of community input/oversight mechanism for the schools, like community school boards or something? Or does everybody flood the central office with their issues about their specific schools?
5. Is there a standardized school-opening and school-closing time? (For example, do all elementary schools start at a certain time of day, then let out at a certain time of day, city-wide? What about middle schools or high schools?)

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Generally (non-agency specific):

1. When the boundary of a police precinct/fire company/EMS unit runs up and down a street, does what precinct/etc. you're in vary with what side of the street you're on? (Would seem to make coverage and operations a bit inconsistent...)
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Thanks in advance.

[Kimble]

Penta,

Just a suggestion, not saying this is anything you have to do, but instead of writing a novel in each post and expecting others to painstakingly read pages of information, why not just ask your question and let the dialog flow naturally?

Just a suggestion, take it or leave it.