People! We already have an emergency communications network that has been around for years. It's called Amateur radio or "ham radio". The ability of hams to provide emergency communications in times of disaster is the primary reason the FCC allows the service to exist. When all else fails, ham radio is there. Just ask some of the people whose lives were saved by it in the Katrina disaster.

Maybe the failure is just
a "New York State of Mind"

Regulas...thou art surely an idiot.

New York City runs NY state. New York City is the center of international finance. Most major corporations have a major presence in the big Apple. It's the seat of commerce for America and a shining beacon to capitalism worldwide. Hence it was the target for a buncha raving lunatics, hence the need for this radio network. To use your logic, it seems the corporations of NY City can't protect themselves. Liberals might actually believe in something more advanced than Marconi's transmitter.

NY is run by a bunch of socialist wannabe liberals who excel in wasting the peoples money all in the name of we want to help you whether you like it or not.
It's the same elitists who put forth idiotic bills such as requiring your dog to wear a seat belt and many others just as dumb and almost always wanting more money for their social programs.
Regulas

There is probably a very good reason why they can't just use the existing cell phone network augmented with some portable base stations bolted to the backs of fire engines to cope with widespread power failures.

Wonder what the reason is...