A little favor

I know a great deal of you have family members that are police or fire dpeartment personnel so please don't think me selfish for asking this.

Half of Steve's firehouse closed today, which makes his job yet that more dangerous, the response time for water could be lengthened putting himself, his fellow firefighters and residents at risk. For those of you not familiar with FDNY operations, firefighters assigned to trucks enter burning buildings to vent it and search for vicitms before water is put on the building

So please keep him and his brothers in your thoughts so that they stay safe

Thank you all

I still can't believe that Bloomberg closed these FH's down what a boob!!!

I will definitely keep them in my prayers

My firehouse is one of them...I have been crying all morning..im so upset!!!!!!! Mine is the one in long island city...we have rallied, marched, petitioned and still no good. Bloomberg ****s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hated him before but now omg...i despise him!!!!!

My prayers are with your hubby and all other firefighters.

Though I am on the island I too am outraged at the lives, Firefighters and civilians that this idiot is putting at risk! I hope he does not get re-elected!
I will keep your husband in my thoughts.

I was wondering if Steve's house was affected!!! They will all definitely be in my prayers!!

Me too Michelle, Steve and his brothers will be in my prayers.

I will keep him and all the other brave men and women of the FDNY in my thoughts and prayers.

Consider it done!

I read this article this morning and thought of Steve. I know the Woodhaven firehouse was saved and so many petitions, marches, demonstrations, and so much more was done to save it. I hope the same outcome happens for the other 6. The community around those firehouses are not giving up and I hope they reopen those firehouses.


Six Firehouses Closing, But Not Without A Fight

Six of the city’s firehouses are closing Sunday, but the months of protest against the cost-cutting move have not ended.

The closures technically took effect at 9 a.m., but local residents and elected officials are locked arm in arm at the entrance of Engine 204 in Cobble Hill. The firefighters are still inside, and the protestors say they will maintain their human blockade to stop the station from closing.

“This is not the time and this is not the place. The firehouses must remain open,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. “They say cut back, we say fight back.”

Police officers are on the scene, but they have not made any effort to remove the protestors, who say they are willing to go to jail.

“We’re locking arms in civil protest, and we’re going to stay here to make sure they don’t come to the firehouse to close it,” said Marian Fontana, whose husband, a member of Engine 204, died in the World Trade Center attack. “If they have to arrest me, in my husband’s name, who died protecting civilians, then I’m willing to be arrested, to protect the civilians served by this firehouse.”

Also closing Sunday are Engine 36 in Harlem, Engine 209 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Engine 212 in Greenpoint, Engine 278 in Sunset Park and Engine 261 in Long Island City. Protestors also showed up at some of the other firehouses, as firefighters packed their cars with their belongings and drove off.

The closures are expected to save the city $8 million a year, but critics say lives are at risk. The Fire Department says response times in the affected neighborhoods will increase as other firehouses pick up the slack, but they will remain below the citywide average.

While four of the houses will be emptied completely, two will keep their ladder companies. The city is awaiting the outcome of a lawsuit before deciding what to do with the abandoned houses. Residents and officials who sued to save the firehouses will be back on court Wednesday to ask a judge to reopen them.

Meanwhile, investigators are looking into whether damage at four firehouses in Brooklyn early Saturday is connected to the closings.

None of the houses were on the budget chopping block. Witnesses say a van smashed into the garage door of Engine 210 in Fort Greene, and Engines 206, 217 and 230 in Bedford Stuyvesant.

No injuries were reported, but Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said a smashed door on one of the houses prevented an engine company from making two calls Saturday.

I have 2 cops and 1 firefighter in my family. I am very sad.

But, I can't fully blame Bloomberg-that doesn't makes sense. I don't know what he's supposed to do-we have billions of dollars in debt and NO MONEY.

People complain about paying taxes until they are cut and then complain about services being cut. I think he may be doing it to force Pataki and Bush to see what happens when you cut taxes and the states/cities have no money to do anything with.....It's like people don't get that you pay taxes so we can have firehouses/police departments/roads/inspections etc. etc. etc. ....

I wish Bush would just realize that these tax cuts are costing us our jobs. Great, I won't have to pay as much in taxes and my stocks won't get taxed....OH wait, I won't be paying taxes anyway because I won't have a job, and since the economy ****s b/c we don't have jobs my stocks aren't worth anything anyway.....hmmmm....It's only the really rich who will be saving money

So, I hate Bush...I wish he'd just give the states and cities some money so our families and we as citizens wouldn't have to suffer. He can't do that if he pushes us further and further in debt.

Editted to add: Guiliani was lucky-I liked him too, but he was mayor when the economy was good...of course you can have lots of services when you have money! Bloomberg isn't the cause of the cutbacks to the cities budget...Bush and the bad economy are.

I just had this whole conversation with FI when we heard garbage pick up was becoming less.

Its disgusting. Giuliani worked his butt off to clean up the city and he did a good job. He put more cops on the streets, cleaned up times square, cleaned up our subways and our streets. I think he did a good job as mayor in helping the city.

Now bloomburg is mayor for a year and a half and its been nothing but constant increases and cut backs. As scary as this sounds but the city is going to turn back to the way it was in the 70's and 80's.

We're a city in distress and what does bloomburg do put its city's lives in danger by closing the city's safety, putting a police class on hold, cutting back on city's services, cutting aids in the school, and god knows what else. I am just really convinced bloomburg just doesnt care about the city.

Chippa,
See my edit to my post above yours. Also-did you get the e-mail I sent? I passed that along to FH and he took it to the dept.! Did you go to that other meeting you had scheduled? FM me if you want.

Thanks. No i didnt get your email.

I am going this Thursday at noon to see that other company and I have a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. That one I am looking forward to because the guy just calls me and asks me if he can have 20 minutes of my time for us to talk about the job opening in detail.

You are right, Giulini was very lucky, the city was in good shape and the ecomony was not like it is now

edited for my dopey grammer and sentence structure

Edited to get off my soap box since chippa changed hers:)

Hmm...I'll e-mail you again. :)

I'll keep my eyes open for it

I was upset when I heard reading rainbow may be cancelled because their is no funding. Reading Rainbow, how can you cancel reading rainbow. It had to be the best show for elementary school kids. It really got them to open up and read and dream.

Reading Rainbow was cancelled???

That gives me an idea. I guess one of the places we'll donate to is PBS. Without funding they can't run, and Bush has been cutting funding to public television...

On the daytime emmy awards lavor burton when he was making his acceptance speach was saying how its been great working with the program and they need funding because this may be the last year of the show.