Among his first major initiatives, Commissioner Bruno successfully oversaw New York City’s adoption and implementation of the Citywide Incident Management System (CIMS). CIMS is now the City's standard for responding to and managing emergencies and planned events.

After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, Commissioner Bruno oversaw the development and operation of a Family Assistance Center to assist victims who migrated to New York City. Later that year, Commissioner Bruno headed the City's plan to maintain order during the transit strike – three days that left New Yorkers with no subway service and minimal bus transportation.

Commissioner Bruno oversaw the comprehensive revision of the City's Coastal Storm Plan (CSP). Today, the CSP ensures the City is prepared for a worst-case scenario hurricane and can shelter more than 600,000 residents. OEM also developed the “What if New York City…,” a post-disaster housing competition that challenged teams of architects and planners to design temporary housing for dense, urban environments. The competition marks a critical step in New York City’s effort to plan ahead for long-term housing after a catastrophic disaster. 

Commissioner Bruno led the City's response to the Queens blackout in July 2006, which left more than 100,000 residents without power for several days. In summer 2007, he also guided the City's response to a massive steam pipe explosion in midtown Manhattan and an EF2 tornado, which touched down in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, causing extensive property damage and injuries. In 2008, the commissioner and OEM were challenged by two major crane collapses that caused multiple fatalities, crushed nearby buildings, displaced hundreds of residents, and shut down more than 10 city blocks.

Under Commissioner Bruno’s leadership, Ready New York, the City’s emergency preparedness campaign has grown to include 11 guides in 23 languages, as well as an instructional video. The program has reached more than 6.5 million New Yorkers.

OEM leveraged new technology under Commissioner Bruno by adding its expertise to the creation of Notify NYC, an emergency notification system for New York City residents. The system uses text messaging, e-mail and reverse-911 technologies to warn subscribers about emergencies.

Commissioner Bruno's distinguished career in public service began in 1971, when he joined the City Law Department. He served in various trial attorney and managerial posts at the Law Department and in 1987 he became Fire Commissioner of the City of New York.

Subsequently, Commissioner Bruno was elected in 1991 and 2001 as a Judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York and in 2002 as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.

Commissioner Bruno graduated from City College in 1966 with a B.S. in Economics and in 1968 he earned a J.D. from St. John's Law School. Commissioner Bruno is a lifelong city resident.