I am wondering why the government response was so slow compared to the public's after reviewing this video and several news media videos. The plane went down right off the docks that cruise ships use and from my experience of this immediate area Homeland Security is well represented in this area with land and water contingents. The first Coast Guard boat doesn't show up until over 8 minutes into the video while a ferry shows up in less than a minute.

Thankfully the plane stayed afloat for the minutes needed to save every life. But what if the time was less, where were all the public agencies to help. Maybe it was a good thing they didn't show up, they might have called a committee session, then directed the operation without common sense, and require all marine, OHSA laws to be employed.

The New York Waterway ferries are privately owned, I believe. At least, they were when they were first instituted. They run frequent service between Weehawken and midtown Manhattan.

The first one to arrive was likely already shoved off on its way back to New Jersey when the plane landed, almost right in its path. Thank heaven the ferry captain made a right turn and headed straight for the wreck without first calling corporate headquarters and waiting for an opinion from a big bucks law firm.

waiting for an opinion from a big bucks law firm

Ah, but the big bucks law firms are no doubt working overtime this weekend figuring out how to make a buck off this. It's coming.

I can't see much room to fault the official response time on this one. I mean the NYPD did have scuba divers in the water in time to assist at least one passenger who sounded like she was losing it quickly. She was holding onto the side of one of the boats and the diver talked her into letting him take her over to another one with a ladder and a way to get her out of the cold water. No, this thing was a win all around.
Even the geese came off bad-ass.

the pilot is a hero

One number I wanted to hear from the beginning was the speed of the jet when the pilot made contact with the water: 176 miles per hour. Just imagine you're on the Banfield and something that big went by at that speed. Remarkable. It's also a speed where a sudden slowdown from a less brilliant landing could have killed everyone onboard no matter how strapped in they were.
Then there's the rescue: Did you see the one camera angle looking back at Manhattan? After touching down, the jet was really drifting quickly so all the boats were interacting with the plane in a powerful current. It ended up all the way down by Battery Park right near where the Twin Towers once stood.
This is one of those incidents that seem unbelievable from the start and then just grows. Nobody does it like New York.

Actually I saw an interview with a river cop and his 90 foot police boat was there in just a few minutes. They saw the plane and drove right over to it. I think that second boat on scene is that 90 foot police boat.
So lighten up lw. :)

What if it wasn't geese? Ah...the lawyers have found something now.