Fire Fighters Protest Cuts in New York City

New York City Fire Fighters Protest Bloomberg Public Safety Cuts

June 3, 2011

IAFF - 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.

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?”