City Island Civic Association

Fourteen City Island residents attended a Council hearing of the Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee on Friday, Jan. 16, in spite of the bitter cold. Although the Fire Commissioner left the room before hearing our testimony (and that of the Community Board district manager and a rep of the Borough President), all of the Council Members present, especially Jimmy Vacca, were adamant in their support of City Island and made many good arguments why the ladder company should remain open at night.

As of Saturday, Jan. 17, the ladder company was closed (although it was open Jan. 18 because available extra personnel clocked in). However, once those extra personnel are gone because of attrition and no new firefighters will be hired until 2011, the ladder company will remain closed at night. This puts all of us at risk.

The commissioner made it clear that he would not reverse the decision, so our only hope is to appeal to Mayor Bloomberg, who is hoping to be re-elected to his third term in the fall. Our elected officials have been completely supportive of our efforts and they recommend that we write letters to the mayor and the deputy mayors, either by email or fax or regular mail.

The mayor may be emailed by going to the city web site (http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html). You can have only 300 words in your message so be brief. Below is a sample message. If you want to use it, go ahead. Just paste it into the “Message” section. But it would be more credible if we wrote individual messages and letters, of course.

The mayor can also be reached at City Hall, New York, NY 10007. The deputy mayors who should also get this letter are: Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler and Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey. Their fax number is 212-788-2460; snail mail to City Hall.

Please reopen the nighttime closing of City Island’s Ladder Company 53. Commissioner Scoppetta told residents at a City Council hearing on Jan. 16 that he could not reverse the decision but that you could. As taxpayers, we have every right to expect the same basic services as other residents of New York City, but we do not have those services now, and our lives and property are at risk.

Closing our ladder company at night doubles response time from 5 to 10 minutes, twice that of every fire service in the city. And that doesn’t take into account traffic (often very heavy on City Island’s only access road) or the activity of the busiest drawbridge in the city or the possibility that off-Island trucks may be fighting fires elsewhere in the Bronx.

The basis for this decision is the low number of runs but that is a misleading statistic because the FDNY does not allow City Island fire trucks to leave the island to assist at fires elsewhere.

City Island is an isolated community with 5000 residents, 2300 structures, mostly wood-framed and close together, 34 restaurants, 500 boats in winter dry dock, and strong prevailing winds. Over the past two years, there have been cases of “suspicious” fires, and Fire Marshals spent a year investigating the cases of arson without success.

We recognize that the budget crisis is a serious one. We have had sizeable tax increases during your terms, but we have not complained because we understand the situation you are in. However, as we see you making vast tax concessions to a rich corporation like the New York Yankees at the expense of our basic safety, we have no choice but to question your dedication to the well-being of your own supporters. Please make this right. Thank you.