by JOHN MARZULLI
Firefighters Union President Stephen Cassidy has filed a racially explosive affidavit defending the FDNY against charges that its written exams discriminate against minority-group candidates, the Daily News has learned.
"Basic intelligence is an important asset for firefighters, and ignoring that fact will imperil the safety of the firefighting force," Cassidy wrote in the affidavit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.
The Uniformed Firefighters Association affidavit comes in response to a lawsuit by the Justice Department, which followed a two-year investigation into FDNY hiring practices.
The feds allege that two FDNY entrance exams, offered in 1999 and 2002, did not accurately judge whether an applicant could perform the job of firefighter. The test was unfair to African-Americans and Hispanics, the suit charges.
But Cassidy, in defense of the FDNY, suggests that candidates who couldn't handle the written exams don't have the right stuff.
"The job requires not only physical strength, but also an alert and keen mind," Cassidy said in the affidavit.
"Firefighters are now extensively trained to deal with hazardous materials, possible terrorism and environmental issues unknown years ago," he said. "There is no doubt that intelligence and ability to read and understand are important traits for firefighters."
John Coombs, president of the FDNY Vulcan Society, which represents black firefighters, called Cassidy's comments "totally racially insensitive."
"What right does he have to assume the level of one's intelligence is based on an exam that has never been validated?" Coombs asked yesterday.
The affidavit also creates a stigma for current and future minority-group firefighters, Coombs said.
"His comments are like saying, 'If you're not Irish or Italian, how did you get here?'" Coombs said. "He's insulting all New Yorkers with his rhetoric and language."
The FDNY's racial demographics have long been controversial. Only about 3% of approximately 11,000 firefighters are black, and 4.5% are Hispanic, even though the two groups make up more than half of the city's population.
The union hopes to join forces with city lawyers battling the lawsuit, and Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis is weighing that request.
Cassidy contends the union will be harmed by any outcome of the lawsuit that diminishes the importance of the written exam or creates a "pass-fail" system that would render the ranked hiring lists obsolete.
He also argues the UFA is concerned the city might agree to a settlement that could lead to a "preferential hiring system" for black and Hispanic candidates to avoid the embarrassment of being found guilty of discrimination.
The city has created a new written exam, but it continues to hire firefighters from two older lists the Justice Department contends are discriminatory.
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