Boro Rallies Over FDNY Closures
By Joseph Orovic
Mayor Mike Bloomberg released a list of 20 fire companies slated for potential closure as a result of budget cuts, four of which are in Queens.
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| Bayside area leaders united outside of Engine 306 on 41st Avenue to decry the mayor’s plan to close 20 firehouses citywide, including four in Queens. |
Engine 294 at 101-20 Jamaica Ave., Richmond Hill; Engine 306 at 40-18 214th Place, Bayside; Engine 328 at 16-19 Central Ave., Far Rockaway; and Ladder 128 at 33-51 Greenpoint Ave., Sunnyside were all on the Mayor’s list for possible closure.
If implemented, the moves could save the City $55 million.
The outcry by local elected officials was nearly instantaneous and unanimously against the shuttering of any fire houses.
“Surely, in a budget of $67.2 billion that allocates less than 3 percent to the FDNY, there are priorities,” said Borough President Helen Marshall. “I believe that keeping firehouses open should have been one of them. These units not only respond to fires, but also medical emergencies, gas leaks, auto accidents and a multitude of other emergencies, and perform building safety inspections.”
The City included a list of the estimated effects on response times to emergencies in the potentially-closing fire companies’ areas. While most went up by a little over a minute, many crossed the four-minute mark for first arrivals.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), whose district is served by Ladder 128, expressed concern over his firehouse’s possible closure.
“I stand with the New York City firefighters that risk their lives each day to make us safe, and call on this administration restore all firehouses slated for closure,” he said. “We must continue to do everything possible to ensure these firehouses remain open for our neighborhoods to be safe and response times to remain low.”
Council members Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) and Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria), who chair the Council’s Fire and Criminal Justice Committee and Public Safety Committee respectively, held a joint rally on May 16 on the steps of City Hall.
“The Mayor’s list of the 20 targeted company closings illustrates how every corner of this city will be impacted, its safety compromised and its residents put at risk – this is unacceptable,” Crowley said. “If the City moves forward with any of these closures, people who could have been saved will die.”
In Bayside, Councilman Dan Halloran, Assemblyman Ed Braunstein and Sen. Tony Avella united to decry the potential closing of Engine 306. Other rallies and press conferences sprang up. The Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association and the Richmond Hill Block Association plan a June 5 rally to save Engine 294.
Reach Deputy Editor Joseph Orovic at jorovic@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 127.