End of 2008

Happy holidays and have a wonderful new year! For the best and worst of times, 2008 will become the past before you know it. Wish you all lots of happiness, tons of laughter, a lot of greasy and comforting food and loads of great friendships! I hope this year was great for you and wish that next year, 2009, will be even better. Happy New Year!

Best,
Shirl

Operating hours 9-6 only

Four NYC firehouses are slated for reduced hours starting on January 17, 2009. They will only be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The reason for these closures is the city budget. It will be an attempt to help close the budget gap. This move will save the city about $8.9 million. Many residents and elected officials are concerned of the impact these closures will have on their communities. The hours of closure are especially alarming. Emergencies are unpredictable which can happen any time of the day anywhere (hence an emergency), but especially at night. Ladder 53, located in the community of City Island in Bronx, is one of the four scheduled for shorter hours. It is also the only ladder company on City Island. In addition to these closures, training for new firefighters will be reduced from 23 to 18 weeks as well as a reduction in hiring. The city will be losing valuable emergency services through closures and reduced training. This will cause for a longer response time, when every second counts, for the communities where these companies will only be operating for 9 hours each day. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta states that these changes and reductions are needed because of the city’s fiscal crisis and that “most changes made will not affect operations.”

The night closures will affect the following companies:
Engine 161 - Staten Island (North Shore)
Engine 271 - Brooklyn (Bushwick)
Ladder 53 - Bronx (City Island)
Engine 4 - Manhattan (Financial District)