By Jeremy Walsh
After the city announced the fire engine company serving Ridgewood would shut its doors permanently rather than reducing its hours, City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D−Middle Village) and a number of her Council colleagues slammed the Bloomberg administration for the move.
Engine 271, located in Bushwick, Brooklyn, will close July 1, according to a letter sent Friday by the city Fire Department to Crowley. It was one of four engine companies throughout the city to be shut down in the effort to save $6 million.
“The FDNY, like all city agencies, has been called upon to do its part to reduce costs and make difficult choices,” Deputy Fire Commissioner Daniel Shacknai wrote in a May 8 letter to Crowley. “Our goals in doing so were to identify those companies that could be closed with the least impact on public safety while maintaining the maximum effectiveness of our finite resources.”
Crowley and other Queens Council members, including Leroy Comrie (D−St. Albans), Melinda Katz (D−Forest Hills) and David Weprin (D−Hollis), protested on the steps of City Hall Tuesday morning before a budget hearing.
“Closing these companies means lives lost,” Crowley said, noting the move would increase response times in her district. “Every second a fire grows exponentially. Every second counts.”
As an alternative to closing the engine companies, fire unions have suggested personnel or pay cuts for the FDNY’s administrative echelon. In turn, the city has suggested reducing the crew on each truck from five to four. Neither side has appeared willing to budge.
Councilman James Vacca (D−Bronx), chairman of the Council Committee on Fire & Criminal Justice Services, has also warned that the city plans to shutter another 12 engine companies in January. The Uniformed Firefighters Association has said three or four of those stations will be in Queens.
“It’s going to be a bad New Year’s gift,” Vacca said.
Councilwoman Diana Reyna (D−Brooklyn), whose district includes Engine 271, lashed out at Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“His job is on the line here, and we have heard the message loud and clear,” she said. “He does not care about our communities.”
A spokeswoman for Crowley’s office said Queens has the worst response time in the city at six minutes. The citywide average is five minutes, she said.
Engine 271, which serves both Brooklyn and Queens, responded to 2,550 emergency calls last year, according to the Uniformed Firefighters Association.
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e−mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 154.
