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New York City Fire Fighters Protest Bloomberg Public Safety
Cuts
.JPG) June
3, 2011 – IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger joined thousands of
New York City fire fighters for a massive rally to demand that Mayor Michael
Bloomberg halt his plan to shutter 20 fire companies.
Click here to watch video from the
rally.
“I am sick and tired of a mayor named Bloomberg who offers condolences and
praise for fire fighters when the cameras are rolling, and then turns around and
shuts down fire companies, jeopardizing the safety of millions of hard-working
New Yorkers,” Schaitberger told the crowd gathered near City Hall in Manhattan.
More than 800 fire fighters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge and then joined a
crowd estimated at 10,000 for a demonstration against the planned closures.
Police officers, City workers and concerned citizens joined the rally.
“How can this mayor, who flies around on private jets and has more money than
any of us can imagine, even begin to understand what he is doing. He can’t.
Mayor Bloomberg is out of touch. It’s that simple,” Schaitberger said.
Bloomberg says that closing the 20 fire companies will save $55 million for the
City, which faces a $600 million budget deficit. The mayor’s fiscal 2012 budget
totals $69 billion.
Leading fire officials, City Council members and New York State
lawmakers each took turns at the rally microphone condemning the planned
closures. Each warned that shuttering these 20 fire companies will not only
jeopardize the lives of citizens living nearby, but that such a wholesale cut in
fire service will tear away at an efficient system that swiftly responds to
emergencies ranging from fires to terrorist attacks.
.JPG) The timing could not be worse for closing fire companies as New York remains a
top target for terrorism and New Yorkers continue to struggle amid one of the
worst economic cycles since the Great depression. Public safety should be one
thing, at least, that New York residents can count on.
The 20 company cuts would be the largest since the 1970s when City officials
closed dozens of fire companies, a decision that eventually left entire
neighborhoods in the Bronx destroyed by fires, creating an iconic image of urban
American blight.
The cuts would impact all five of New York’s boroughs: Eight in Brooklyn, three
in the Bronx, three in Manhattan, four in Queens and two on Staten Island.
New
York fire fighters have held numerous rallies across town in recent weeks to
raise public awareness of the planned cuts and the likelihood that shuttering
companies will dangerously increase emergency response times. The June 3 rally
was the largest so far, and Schaitberger let New York’s bravest and their
elected leaders know that the IAFF is ready for a fight to keep all 20 of the
companies open.
“We like a good fight, especially when it comes to fighting against cynical,
political decisions,” Schaitberger said.
Local fire officials added their voices to the rising chorus calling for
Bloomberg to rethink his decision.
“When fire fighters get the call every minute counts, whether we are responding
to a spreading fire or a man suffering from cardiac arrest,” said President of
the Uniformed Firefighters Association Local 94 Steve Cassidy. “The lives of New
Yorkers from the Bronx to Brooklyn will be in jeopardy because of Bloomberg’s
ill-conceived cuts.”
Uniformed Fire Officers Association Local 854 President Al Hagen added, “It is
civic insanity to shrink the fire department with terrorist threats such a major
concern,” Hagan told the gathered crowd. “The mayor himself concedes that New
York City is the principal target, so why would he then turn around and shutter
companies?”
Below is the list of New York fire companies slated for closure:
BROOKLYN
• Engine 205 at 74 Middagh Street
• Engine 206 at 1201 Grand Street
• Engine 218 at 650 Hart Street
• Engine 220 at 530 11th Street
• Engine 233 at 25 Rockaway Ave
• Engine 284 at 1157 79th Street
• Ladder 104 at 161 South 2nd Street
• Ladder 161 at 2929 West 8th Street
THE BRONX
• Engine 46 at 460 Cross Bronx Expressway
• Engine 60 at 341 East 143rd Street
• Ladder 53 at 169 Schofield Avenue
MANHATTAN
• Engine 4 at 42 South Street
• Engine 26 at 220 West 37th Street
• Ladder 8 at 14 North Moore Street
QUEENS
• Engine 294 at 101-20 Jamaica Avenue
• Engine 306 at 40-18 214th Place
• Engine 328 at 16-19 Central Avenue
• Ladder 128 at 33-51 Greenpoint Avenue
STATEN ISLAND
• Engine 157 at 1573 Castleton Avenue
• Engine 161 at 278 McClean Avenue
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