Council Reps Wage Uphill Battle For Firehouses

Engines 293 and 261 may be on the mayors budgetary chopping block, but Queens Council representatives have not given up hope on keeping the two firehouses open.
During meetings on his budget proposal with the City Council last week, Mayor Bloomberg dismissed the main proposal for saving the eight firehouses targeted for closure across the city: the solicitation of corporate sponsorships.
Any money brought in from such a scheme would, under law, have to go into the citys "general pot," and could not be directly allocated to the Fire Department when so many other services are facing cuts because of a $3.4 billion budget gap, the mayor argued.
"To me, that just sounds like a bureaucratic answer," said Councilman Eric Gioia, whose district covers Long Island City and includes Engine 261.
He and Councilman Joseph Addabbo Jr., a vocal advocate for the Woodhaven-based Engine 293, both claim that private money has been used extensively to enhance city services in the past.
"We have an adopt-a-highway program," Gioia said. "Theres no reason not to have an adopt-a-firehouse program."
Addabbo, as chairman of the Councils Parks Committee, has already introduced legislation that, if passed, would encourage private companies to sponsor clean-ups at city parks.
And special trust funds already exist for some parks, with the Central Park trust as the best known. Why not legislate for a firehouse trust fund? asks Addabbo.
"We have to consider this [kind of funding]," he said. "We have to be creative to get the city out of its financial hole."
Gioia argues that the September 11th terrorist attacks sparked a new spirit of generosity among New Yorkers, making private funds a realistic alternative.
At least one New Yorker has already stepped up to the challenge of finding money. Adam Brecht, a Wall Street public relations veteran, recently launched the "Keep NYCs Firehouses Open" campaign, according to an article in Tuesdays New York Post.
Over the next month, he hopes to raise $10 million through corporate donations and small donations from private citizens, bringing in the sum needed to keep the eight firehouses going.
Addabbo and Gioia both see the looming firehouse closures as serious risks to their constituents. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta told Addabbo, in a letter, that the closing of Engine 293 would cause fire emergency response times to jump by more than a minute in parts of south Queens.
"I consider that a major threat," Addabbo said.
At a recent rally in front of Engine 261, one local resident, according to Gioia, shouted, "If you can hold your breath for one or two minutes, this [closure] shouldnt matter to you. But if you cant, then you should fight like mad to keep these firehouses open."
Still, neither councilmember sees the closures as inevitable. "I think we have an uphill battle," Gioia said, "but were going to keep up the fight."
Addabbo notes that, even though the Council can put its own budget together, the mayor ultimately has the spending power to allocate funds to or away from firehouses.
"He cannot blame the state or the federal government," Addabbo said. "The ball is in his court. This is his decision, and there is still time to change that decision."
"We have to keep the pressure on the mayor," Gioia said. "We need to let him know that the people of Queens have long memories."
To learn more about "Keep NYCs Firehouses Open," contact Adam Brecht at (646) 230-1043.