Mount Vernon FD Closes Fulton Avenue Station

[61MACKBR1 222]

Apparently, according to press release (see below) the FDMV closed the Fulton Avenue Station today due to budgetary reasons. Until consolidation of emergency services becomes a reality within the entire County of Westchester, you are going to see more of this and you will also see departments like Yonkers, Eastchester and New Rochelle simply refuse to go into Mount Vernon, thus risking lives and property, because of Mount Vernon's refusal to "See The Light"

inShare

Click to view this email in a browser

CITY COUNCIL

ONE ROOSEVELT SQUARE, ROOM 104

MOUNT VERNON, NY 10550

(914) 665-2352 · FAX (914) 668-6044

www.cmvny.com

PRESS RELEASE

RICHARD THOMAS
Legislation & Public Works Chairman

CITY COUNCILMAN

CITY HALL

MOUNT VERNON, NY 10550

(914) 297-7868
richthomasmv@gmail.com

MT. VERNON MUST STOP PLAYING WITH FIRE

“Thousands of lives are in danger while Fulton Avenue Fire House closed. The matter is serious and the administration must prioritize public safety,” said Thomas

FOR RELEASE ON

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

MOUNT VERNON, NY (Tuesday, July 14, 2015): Approximately 70,000 people live in Mt. Vernon and the City has four (4) fire stations, of which one – Oak Street Fire House – is significantly undermanned and the other – Fulton Avenue Station – is now closed. Each fire house serves roughly 17,500 people and with two in full operation that means each fire station must cover 35,000 people.

Since 1996, the City of Mt. Vernon has been known to abuse Westchester County’s mutual aid system for fire assistance. The latest closure of the Fulton Fire House is the latest smack in the face to emergency service personnel and threat to the safety of the citizens of Mt. Vernon.

In response to the continued disregard for life and property by Ernest Davis’ administration and financial game of charades being played by the City’s Finance Department, Councilman Richard Thomas issued the following statement:

“With temperatures rising and sweltering humidity, more and more people will turn on their air conditioner to escape summer’s blistering heat. For our elderly, children, and sick, staying in a cooler environment could be a matter of life and death. At a time like this, it is unconscionable for the City of Mt. Vernon to have a fire house closed and others significantly understaffed,” said Thomas.

According to financial records from the New York State Comptroller’s Office, it appears that Mt. Vernon paid over $1,000,000 (out of budget codes H34102 and A34102) as repayment for mutual aid services in 2014 alone. Records show that New Rochelle and White Plains spent between $180,000 and $240,000 for similar services. “Mt. Vernon’s expenses are true outliers in this equation and make very little sense,” said Thomas.

He added, “More alarming is that the salary line for Fire Department (A34101) has approximately $13,825,921, enough to hire an adequate amount of fire fighters, yet the Department remains woefully understaffed with rampant equipment failures and, now, station closures,” Thomas stated.

When double checking the salary appropriation against the amount listed on the City’s website, in the Annual 2015 Budget Assessment (see page 38), it shows that the “salary & wages” line for the Fire Department was $13,416,863 for 2014, which is approximately $400,000 less than the amount provided to the State Comptroller’s office.

“This is exactly why greater transparency is desperately needed in Mt. Vernon,” said Thomas. “We must reconcile these numbers and put an end to the ‘game of charades’ being played by both Ernest Davis and Maureen Walker. For years they have concealed important information that they are obligated share with the public. The lack of transparency enables high taxes, results in waste, and discourages accountability. Thankfully State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has resources available to assist because at this rate we can never have an honest discussion about what is going on with Mt. Vernon’s finances.”

“With respect to the closed fire house, the tenuous situation demonstrates the negligence of city leadership and continued disregard for life, property, and safety. We should be very concerned about the safety of Mt. Vernon’s fire fighters as well as other responding emergency service personnel. This is not a money problem, this is a leadership problem,” he said.

“The bottom line is Mt. Vernon must stop playing with fire. People have died as a result of fires, and having a station closed in the midst of summer heightens the need to reopen the Fulton Fire House without delay,” said Thomas. “As the budget season approaches, it is my hope that city officials come together and focus on crafting an action plan to better protect the public from fire, violence, and other threats to safety,” he concluded.

# # #

PICTURE OF CLOSED FIRE HOUSE SIGN FAR BELOW

Councilman Thomas is available for further comment at 917-703-4564 or via Skype or Google Hangout as arranged.

Please contact Councilman Thomas for a copy of the Excel spreadsheet with the financial data mentioned above. Note that the information was sourced from the New York State Comptroller’s Open Book database here.

LINK:http://wwe2.osc.state.ny.us/transparency/LocalGov/LocalGovIntro.cfm

Follow Rich Thomas on FACEBOOK TWITTER INSTAGRAM

[fire patrol nyc 153]

Just passed about an hour ago,looks like news 12 was getting ready to film...Not sure but looks like it's still closed...This is a fight they must win .The admin. has been getting away with too much for too long.Gambling with the lives and safety of the firefighters and people of Mount Vernon is NO WAY TO RUN A DEPARTMENT!!!!Wake up city hall,act while there is still time!

[frost025 94]

Enough is enough, the firefighters need to get out the citizens who pay for fire protection and are not getting it .They need to March on city hall and make their voices heard to make a change now open the closed station, put the proper manpower on duty, stop the bull.... Before a travesty happens.

[Dinosaur 844]

Nobody cares! The residents reelected Davis as mayor despite all the shady dealings in his past and his utter disregard of emergency services. Davis doesn't care about the firefighters because they're not voters in his little fiefdom. He will continue to destroy what was once a vibrant department and then cry to the state or feds for funds to fix it after a tragedy occurs.

He's a scam artist and playing his best game!

[frost025 94]

Got that right!!!!!

[RFR 12]

Got that right!!!!!

It's 95 degrees out and guess what? Mt. Vernon has a fire right up the street from the closed fire house. SHOCKER! I feel for you brothers.