Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Rally to Save Firehouse Engine Company 220 Today and Tomorrow.

 Wood Frame Row House Fire:   ENGINE COMPANY 220 responding to this smoky blaze on 16th Street back in March of 2010.  link

Save Engine 220!

CITY COUNCILMEMBER BRAD LANDER RALLIES TODAY MAY 25TH AND THURSDAY MAY 26TH

“Save Engine 220” morning rally: Wed, May 25 at 11am 

with Public Advocate Bill deBlasio at 530 11th Street


“Save Engine 220” evening rally: Thurs, May 26 at 7 pm

with Assemblymember Jim Brennan at 530 11th Street






Mayor Bloomberg is proposing to close FDNY Engine 220 fire company at 530 11th Street in Park Slope, the engine company that keeps much of Park Slope & Windsor Terrace safe.
If the Bloomberg Administration is allowed to proceed with this closure (1 of 20 he is proposing around the city), arrival times at fires will increase dramatically in our neighborhood. According to stats provided to the City Council, the first arrival time would jump from 3:38 to 4:08 seconds (a 19% increase), and the second arrival time would go from 4:08 to 5:24 (a 30% increase). An extra minute to get an engine company to a fire can be the difference between life and death.
Mayor Bloomberg has his priorities in all the wrong places. Closing 20 firehouses would save $55 million, while the City's 'rainy day' fund has $1.9 billion on reserve. The mayor supports giving a new tax break to millionaires and billionaires (by opposing extension of the existing NYS millionaire's tax), and increasing spending on consultants by over $100 million, while putting lives at risk.


Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

I was very angry to learn of your plan to close FDNY Engine 220 at 530 11th street in Park Slope. I am writing to demand that you restore funding for E220.

This fire company keeps my family, and me, and much of Park Slope & Windsor Terrace safe. If you proceed with this closure, arrival times at fires will increase dramatically in our neighborhood – a 30% increase in the time before water is getting on the fire. An extra minute to get an engine company to a fire can be the difference between life and death.

There are many other choices you can make, rather than seeking to save $55 million by putting lives at risk. I would support an extension of the existing “millionaire’s tax,” (which would bring the City hundreds of millions), dipping into the City’s “rainy day” fund (which has $1.9 billion on reserve), or freezing spending on external consultants (which you are proposing to increase by $100 million in this year’s budget).

Please get your priorities straight, and don’t put lives at risk in our community. Save Engine 220.

Sincerely,    _____________________________________________

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