City Hall – Today the City Council’s Fire and Criminal Justice Committee held a hearing to examine the New York City Fire Department’s (FDNY) plan to cease operating a fire unit on Governor’s Island, and to eliminate night tours at four other firefighting units to meet an $8.9 million agency budget cut announced last month due to the city’s financial crisis.  Councilmember Bill de Blasio made the following statement at the hearing:

“I am extremely concerned about the Administration’s proposed cuts to fire services.  While our City is facing very difficult fiscal times, this is absolutely not an area where we should cut back.  Response times are down citywide, but we cannot ignore the serious potential impact on individual communities that lose fire services. In May 2003 for example, FDNY closed Engine 204 in Cobble Hill, along with 5 other firehouses. Response times for those 6 communities went up by at least 30 seconds in each one.  Tough budgetary choices have to be made, but adding even a few seconds for a fire truck to reach a building in need can mean the difference between life and death.  I strongly urge the Department not to make these cuts.”

(YWN Desk – NYC)