In January, Council Member Joann Ariola, chairperson for the Fire and Emergency Management Committee on the City Council, received special recognition at the FDNY Columbia Association meeting for her help in ending a delay in FDNY promotions from Lieutenant Exam 0569.
The test is a requirement for FDNY personnel to officially move up ranks, and after a series of bureaucratic delays working with the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), who administer and grade the tests, many employees were left in a “limbo” and unable to fill necessary leadership positions in firehouses.
The FDNY Lieutenant Eligibles Association showed appreciation to Ariola for her advocacy to DCAS by presenting her the wooden plaque at the meeting held by the FDNY Columbia Association, a nonprofit dedicated to firefighter advocacy and promoting a “high level of competence and skill in the performance of their professional duties.”
“We had so many people essentially stuck in limbo because the city couldn’t get its act together,” said Ariola. “As soon as this issue was brought to my attention, I knew I had to act. And I am proud to say that we now have an unbelievable new crop of leaders within the FDNY as a result of that action.”
FDNY has protested DCAS’s process in administering the lieutenant exam before. In 2022, around 900 firefighters to the lieutenant exam to be officially promoted after a long hiring freeze instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic. DCAS later published a long list of all those who passed, which received backlash from FDNY employees and unions who complained the tests, specifically the multiple choice section, were graded on too lenient a curve. DCAS would later amend the curve and grading process.
According to the FDNY Lieutenant Exam 0569 Eligible Association, the delays in promotion caused economic strain for first responders who were anticipating the rise in rank and also caused gaps in leadership at firehouses. Ariola brought the issue directly to DCAS to advocate for “clarity and accountability” during the exam process to speed up the timeline for qualified first responders.
“We are incredibly thankful to Councilwoman Ariola and to her amazing staff for all her support during this incredibly difficult time in our members’ lives,” said Paul Porcello of the FDNY Lieutenant Exam 0569 Eligible Association. “The dedication to first responders was apparent in every single interaction we had, and we couldn’t ask for a better advocate in City Council. The plaque we presented to her was just a small token of our appreciation for the work she has done – both recognized and unrecognized – in her time as Chair of the Fire and Emergency Management Committee.”
