Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to save the city about $55 million by closing 20 fire companies faced stiff opposition today as protests mounted outside of City Hall.
Firefighters and City Council members said the move will endanger New Yorkers, and they’re calling it a slap in the face this year especially.
“To threaten to close 20 fire companies now as we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11 is a disgrace,” said Stephen Cassidy of the Uniformed Firefighters Association.
Fire Commissioner Sal Cassano told the City Council Monday that if the cuts go through there will be serious consequences.
“The level of cuts we are facing now, including closure of 20 fire companies, will negatively affect response times to fires and life-threatening medical emergencies,” said Cassano.
Outside of City Hall, Queens Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley agreed.
“”To close fire companies today is dangerous, costly and potentially deadly,” said Councilwoman Crowley.
But any goodwill Cassano won evaporated when it became clear that he wasn’t willing to tell the council which fire companies will close. He said a list does exist, but he won’t share it.
“So you’re telling me, like I’m on double secret probation here, that I’ll find out after just what the effect of the budget vote that I cast is. And when it comes to public safety, especially when it comes to public safety, that is just not acceptable,” said Brooklyn City Councilmember Lew Fidler.
Some members said they want to use the council’s subpoena power or other legal means to obtain the list. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn fired off a letter to Cassano demanding a copy of the list by Tuesday.
The decision to withhold information about the specific fire companies on the chopping block may be a strategic one. If New Yorkers know in advance that a company in their neighborhood may disappear, they’re likely to take to the streets in protest.
Cassano said about 90 percent of the department’s budget is used to pay for fire and emergency medical services. At this point, he added, there’s no way to avoid cutting operations to meet the city’s budget demands.
(Source: NY1)
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5 Responses
The problem is not that people are taxed too little, The problem is that government spends too much!!
-Ronald Reagan
(spend it on more important things)
#1 1stAdmendment,
Could you explain what might be more important than public safety?
Deliberate cuts to public safety (police and fire) in the 1960s and 1970s led directly to the burning of the Bronx, contributing to the destruction of what had been the largest single concentration of Jews in the world. You would have been among the budget cutters.
To “charliehall”
What I said was government spends on so many unimportant things they don’t have enough for the important things,sorry if you didnt understand!
When Bloomberg ran for office he said HE will run the city like he ran his businesses and will get the city out of the red!!! He said the city needs a businessman and not a politician to make sure the city runs properly and can manage its budget.
Hey Bloomberg, we didn’t need YOU to shut down hospitals and Fire Houses or cut all the other funding that the city is suffering from. ANYONE could have done that, we didn’t need a billionaire to show us how its done!
Let’s try to stop the hatred online. People feel bad when someone talks out against them, even if we don’t know their real name(s).