Community rallies to save Engine 294

The question was asked: “Do we want bike lanes, pedestrian plazas or firehouses open?”
And hundreds of people answered in unison, “Firehouses.”
They had gathered outside Engine 294 in Richmond Hill on Sunday, June 5 because in the mayor’s planned budget, four firehouses in the borough, including 294, face the chopping block.
If its closing is realized, this will be the third time that engine company’s doors have closed. The first closing lasted six years – from 1975 to 1981 – and the most recent closing was under Mayor David Dinkins in 1991. It was reopened by Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who pledged that that the fire company would never see a chopping block again.
“The last time Engine Company 294 closed, within the first 72 hours there were two deaths,” said an alarmed Simcha Waisman, president of the One Stop Richmond Hill Community Center and vice president of the Richmond Hill Block Association.
Carrying homemade signs that read, “Tax the rich before you cut services” and “Money for renaming roads and bridges . . . no money to keep Engine Co. 294 open” – and chanting, “Don’t close the doors of 294” – the protestors aimed to send a loud and clear message to City Hall.
“I asked the mayor, ‘Can you put a price on a human life?’” said City Councilmember Eric Ulrich. “If this engine company – or any throughout the city – closes, people will be put at risk.”
The Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA) announced earlier this year that 2010 was the busiest year in the 145 year history of Fire Department of New York (FDNY), and UFA President Steve Cassidy pointed out that the busiest consecutive years were the last seven.
Loycent Gordon said the fight to keep 294 functioning is especially close to his heart.
Not only is he FDNY, he is also a business owner in Woodhaven.
“[The structure] has been there 181 years,” he told The Courier. “It had been in a fire and was saved. That’s why I’ve been going to every rally. This comes first.”
Maria Thomson, executive director of the Woodhaven Business Improvement District, pointed out that many homes and businesses in the area are wood structures.
“The stores along Jamaica Avenue – if one goes up, five or six are lost,” she said. “This is déjà vu all over again, since we were fighting to keep 294 open 20 years ago.”
For one local parent, Engine 294 is especially vital.
“My children’s school is right up the block,” she said, noting that P.S. 66, P.S. 90 and P.S. 254 are all nearby. “Anything can happen, we need our firehouse.”
Elected officials urge that your voice be heard by dialing 3-1-1 or by emailing issues@council.nyc.gov.