Bloomberg to Shut 20 Fire Stations, Most in Brooklyn

Bowing to pressure from the City Council, the Bloomberg administration released Wednesday a draft list of the 20 fire companies facing closure this year.

According to the FDNY’s draft list, eight of the companies are in Brooklyn, four in Queens, three in Manhattan, another three in the Bronx and two on Staten Island.

Emergency-response times would worsen if the city closed the companies, the FDNY said, and one case would be dramatic: At Ladder 53 on Schofield Avenue in the Bronx, the arrival time would jump to 9 minutes and 49 seconds from 4 minutes and 44 seconds. But the FDNY said the company ranks lowest in the city in terms of workload.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed shuttering the companies as part of his executive budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, a move that would save $55 million. Earlier this week, Speaker Christine Quinn and other council members demanded that the mayor release the list of companies on the chopping block.

Mr. Bloomberg initially balked, saying a single list doesn’t exist, even though Fire Commissioner Sal Cassano told the council that he had prepared one. By day’s end, the mayor capitulated and sent the council the list. Still, he insisted he has yet to approve any specific closings, and his aides stressed that the list could change.

“It would be great if we could have a firehouse, or company, on every corner—that’s not the real world,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “We just have to find some balance.”

The mayor is in the midst of budget negotiations with the council and it’s likely that money will be restored to fund most of these companies, if not all of them.

Last year, the mayor also proposed closing 20 companies, but the council funneled enough money to spare each of them.

As the administration feared, the list drew intense criticism from officials in the targeted neighborhoods.

“I am flabbergasted that eight engine and ladder companies—nearly half of the 20 proposed closures citywide—are in Brooklyn,” said Marty Markowitz, the borough’s president, in a statement. “If there is any serious thought being given to closing these houses, it needs to be extinguished like a three-alarm fire.”

Council Member Elizabeth Crowley, chairwoman of the Fire & Criminal Justice Committee, predicted the closings would result in fatalities.

Referring to the fire commissioner’s candid testimony this week, Council Member Peter Vallone said, “The fire commissioner and I are in complete agreement—these cuts will endanger the safety of the public.”

The commissioner testified the closings would increase response times and affect every community citywide.

Steve Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, said the mayor’s proposal shows that Mr. Bloomberg has “willfully abdicated responsibility for protecting the safety of New Yorkers.”

Mr. Bloomberg defended his record on fire safety, arguing that the number of firefighters has decreased during his tenure but “response times are better than ever” and “death by fire continues to go down.”