999

Best wishes for a speedy recovery Chief

Rest in Peace Sarge

Are there any upcoming dispatcher exams coming up? Either WCPD, 60-Control or any local municipalities?

Where on North Ave and Church St. ??

He may not have been the greatest MD in the world but I fully agree with x901.

Mount Vernon doctor suspected in townhouse explosion dies By STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: July 16, 2006) NEW YORK — The Mount Vernon Hospital doctor suspected of blowing up his Upper East Side townhouse rather than allowing his ex-wife to benefit from its sale has died nearly a week after suffering critical injuries in the blast, a hospital spokeswoman said today. Dr. Nicholas Bartha, 66, died late last night, said Mary Halston, an administrator at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Police had been unable to speak to Bartha after the July 10 explosion because of his condition, but authorities have said they were investigating whether he might have caused it rather than sell the townhouse as part of a divorce judgment favoring his ex-wife. Bartha's ex-wife, Cordula Bartha, told police she received an e-mail from him shortly before the explosion warning that she would be "transformed from gold digger to ash and rubbish digger. "I always told you I will leave the house only if I am dead," the e-mail said. Bartha also sent a disturbing email to colleagues at Mount Vernon Hospital just before the blast, hospital officials confirmed last week. Two hours before the explosion leveled the Manhattan townhouse, Bartha complained that "life passed me by" and his job at Mount Vernon Hospital was "pure punishment." Bartha said he feared losing the valuable medical office and home, relegating him to a Mount Vernon job he called "dysfunctional." A hospital spokesman described the email as the product of an unstable person. Investigators have confirmed that someone tampered with a gas line leading into the home's basement, allowing vapors to flow for hours until it caused the building to blow up. The physician, who lived and worked in the four-story landmark in the posh Manhattan neighborhood, was the lone occupant during the blast. It leveled the building and left the block covered in bricks, broken glass and splintered wood. At least 14 other people were injured, including 10 firefighters, authorities said. Rescuers pulled the doctor from the rubble after hearing his calls. He was in critical condition at the Weill Cornell campus of New York Presbyterian Hospital until he died. The townhouse and land were worth nearly $6.4 million, according to the city's finance department. The property was to be sold at auction in October to pay a $4 million judgment against Bartha, though his ex-wife had predicted he wouldn't leave without a fight. "He has said many times that he intends to 'die in my house,"' Cordula Bartha said in a petition filed last year. The doctor was responsible for other implied threats against his ex-wife, according to court records. A 2005 appellate court opinion said the doctor had "intentionally traumatized" Cordula Bartha, a Jew who was born in Nazi-occupied Holland, by posting "swastika-adorned articles and notes" around their home. The opinion also said Bartha had "ignored her need for support and assistance while she was undergoing surgery and treatment for breast cancer." The man's next-door neighbors had sued him Friday, claiming the explosion damaged their cooperative apartment and forced them to leave it. They also named the Consolidated Edison utility as a defendant, accusing it of failing to have proper safety devices. Con Ed has said it does not comment on pending litigation. The 19th-century townhouse on 62nd Street between Park and Madison avenues — just a few blocks from Central Park — once served as a secret meeting place for a group of prominent New Yorkers who informally gathered intelligence for President Franklin D. Roosevelt before and during World War II. Earlier today, the remains of the home drew onlookers filled with curiosity but little sympathy. "This is the only site we've seen. That's pretty sad," said Regina Black of Syracuse, in town for a wedding shower and staying at the nearby Hyatt Regency Hotel. Black said Bartha wasn't think of anyone but himself, not the neighbors, passersby or emergency workers directly affected by his sensational suicide method. "It's a sad thing," she said. "My husband's a physician, and I can't imagine the thinking behind it." Black and friend Kelli Parker of Phoeniz, Ariz., were among dozens of passersby who stopped to gawk at the newly vacant lot at 34 E. 62nd St. Boarded windows in the building next door and charred facades on either side offered the only clues to the devastation wrought here six days ago. A silent backhoe blocked the sidewalk and barricades forced people to keep back from what is now a construction site in this upscale neighborhood of boutiques and apartment houses. Black speculated that Bartha's death might send a message about the effects of one-sided divorce settlements. Dan Merrins of Freeport on Long Island expressed a similar sentiment. "Divorces are horrible," Dan Merrins said. "I imagine he was mentally ill or a substance abuser, something along those lines. He was just in his home and he didn't want to give it up?" Merrins and his wife, Irene, are staying at the East Side apartment of their son, who is on vacation. "Fine if you want to do this (commit suicide)," Irene Merrins said. "But what about the other people around?" "He wanted to make a statement," her husband added. "He certainly did." Adding to the sense that this had become a top tourist attraction, Marc Grossman and Sharon Mintz made it a stop on the Upper East Side walking tour they were taking this morning. The Washington Heights couple, engaged to be married in a year, live in the same neighborhood as Bartha's ex-wife. "It's weird to see," said Mintz, 25. "You see it in the newspapers. You see it on TV. It's weird to see it in person." Staff writer Brian J. Howard contributed to this report.

Call Daryn Baia (Communications Director) 914-965-5040 extension 3065 Usually requirement of minimum of 21 years old and must be an EMT.

Station 4 on Webster Avenue