by ARI PAUL
By For the Fire Department, Mayor Bloomberg's budget proposal unveiled Jan. 28 includes closing four engine companies in addition to the 16 units that would close if their funding was not extended at the end of June. The budget also calls for the elimination of the 60 five-Firefighter engine companies, a move likely to anger the Uniformed Firefighters Association.
The Mayor said that closing the four additional companies would realize an annual savings of $5.6 million and that staffing all engine companies with four Firefighters would produce $7.9 million in annual savings.
Threatens 1,050 Layoffs
But Mr. Bloomberg added that if the State Legislature passed Governor Paterson's budget proposal, which slashes funding to the city, the administration would have to make further cuts to the FDNY, including laying off 1,050 firefighters, while closing 42 additional companies.
"Each company is part of the fabric of fire protection. Removing any single stitch compromises the entire cloth and the safety of New York City," said Alexander Hagan, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association. "Right now we are stretched thin. Any of the cuts from a budget that has no fat is going to produce problems."
The UFA opposes reducing staffing on engine companies, arguing that four-Firefighter companies take longer to establish water lines. New City Council Fire and Criminal Justice Services Chair Elizabeth Crowley said in a statement: "We have a responsibility to our tax-paying New Yorkers that when it comes to safety, we deliver! As chair, my priority is to keep our fire companies open."
Cites City Island Danger
Her predecessor, Bronx Councilman James Vacca, whose district includes City Island and is home to a fire company that was on last year's chopping block, added, "In my district, on City Island, closing Ladder Company 53 would double response times for this isolated community, which is separated from The Bronx mainland by two bridges."
Last year, the Bloomberg administration proposed cutting 16 companies to close the city's deficit, but a deal guaranteeing funding for the current fiscal year was reached with the City Council. Mr. Hagan was confident that the Council would find funding again this time.
"We feel that life safety should be among the most-important priorities," he said.
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