NEW FDNY FILING OPEN.

[68jk09]

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 New test filing open
 

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http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcas/downloads/pdf/noes/201202000000.pdf

 


Read more: http://fdnyrant.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=recent#ixzz1SBNRQomr

[tbendick]

We have a page setup at www.nycfire.net/fdnyexam

[68jk09]

After the last test it was said that some were not educated enough to do well .......so now this test involves using a computer ......suppose some are computer challenged.....another lawsuit ? ?

[68jk09]

http://manhattan.ny1.com/content/top_stories/143118/fdny-fires-up-new-recruitment-campaign

[68jk09]

Fire Department Commissioner Salvatore Cassano took to the altar of a prominent black church Sunday to urge African-Americans and women to apply to become firefighters.

Cassano's Sabbath speech to the Greater Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamaica touted a new hiring exam-which still requires a judge's approval-aimed at making the FDNY more diverse.

The FDNY has been blocked from making new hires over the last three years because a federal judge ruled the tests were disciminatory against minorities and helped create a department that is roughly 91% white.

Even though the new test has yet to be approved, Cassano stood before the congregation of the Greater Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamaica Sunday and sang the praises of working for the FDNY.

"If you know a young man or woman who's looking for a great job, the FDNY is the answer," Cassano told the congregation.

"You will have a second family in the Fire Department," Cassano added. "You'll never regret being an FDNY member."

Cassano is expected to discuss aspects of the new exam at a press conference at a Manhattan firehouse on Monday. The department hopes to give the test early next year - and Cassano said he expects a record turnout.

The FDNY currently has about 300 openings and has over the last 18 months had some 130,000 people express interest in taking the firefighter exam, department officials said.

But Cassano's sales pitch at the church will amount to little more than a Sunday sermon if Judge Nicholas Garaufis does not approve the new test.

The Justice Department has long scrutinized the firefigher exams, which have been the subject of legal challenges by a fraternal organization of black FDNY firefighters.

Last year, Garaufis gave the city five options to hire 300 new firefighters. The options ranged from a random drawing of candidates who had taken the test to hiring a full class that reflected the racial demographics of the applicant pool.

The city rejected the proposals, arguing that they amounted to race-based quotas. The FDNY opted to redesign the test.

The Rev. Floyd Flake, a former congressman who heads the Greater Allen AME Church, said he believes the FDNY is a good career choice - particularly in a sluggish economy.

"There was a sense in prior years that African-Americans were not welcome," Flake told reporters before Sunday's worship service. "I've seen dramatic change."

Jackie Martinez, 29, who is black and has been an FDNY firefighter for five years, agreed with Flake's assessment and called being a member of the Bravest "an amazing experience."

She also urged women to take the test. Right now, there are only 29 active-duty female firefighers out of a force of more than 10,000.

"It's a team effort - you will be part of the team," said Martinez, who was working an FDNY information booth inside the church entrance Sunday.

"It's a career with growth and advancement. The Fire Department is reaching out to everyone."

FDNY officials say the department intends to make the new test open to first-time applicants between the ages of 18 and 29. They plan to increase the maximum age to 35 for anyone who took one of the tests blocked by the court.



 

[68jk09]

http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/insider/events/2011/071811a.shtml

[68jk09]

Letter from Paul Mannix .....QUOTE.......Rebuttal to Vulcan President Firefighter John Coombs
Now to John Coombs (Feb. 15 letter). I hope the editor of this paper again grants me a large part of his publication for my letter, as I have quite a lot of comments to make regarding Firefighter Coombs. I'll be as brief as possible on each one.

First, the FDNY can hardly denounce my call for an investigation (which I herein repeat and offer my assistance in conducting) since it actually conducted one, half-hearted though it seemed. Next, John, if you believe my letter was a "tirade of deception" and that I speak half-truths and lies, then highlight and refute the deceptive points.


Be aware, however, that my letter included a bibliography with nine footnotes to back up what I wrote. Be advised that city employment is not distributed; it is earned. I thought I had explained this to you when you admitted in a meeting that you had no idea how or why civil service testing came to be. Jobs used to be distributed, John, and it led to widespread, pervasive corruption and inequity. Objective, competitive testing, while not a perfect system, is a damn sight better than patronage.

Speaking of competition, I have successfully competed on numerous entry level tests as well as five promotion tests (one in the NYPD). I have also worked a side job over the last 12 years helping firefighters prepare for very competitive promotion tests, so I am happy that there is competition (and not simply for altruistic reasons).

You, on the other hand, have stated that there shouldn't even be a test to become a firefighter (I then explained civil service testing to you) and lobbied to change the competitive written firefighter test to a pass/fail format. You also, to my knowledge, have not yet competed on even one promotion test, so it might be prudent of you to keep your opinion about others' supposed fear of competition to yourself. You are vexed that I did not acknowledge what you call valid points raised by others. Well, this is easy to explain, I do not go along to get along. If I disagree, I disagree. I am vexed that you make a call for elected officials to get involved, since one of the Vulcan Society's most ardent supporters is former Black Panther/City Councilman Charles Barron. He just may be tempted to send his aide Viola Plummer after me, and she is fond of threatening opponents with assassination. Maybe I'll get off easy and she'll just hit me with a leftover Sonny Carson street sign. (By the way, if Mr. Barron is still looking for a white person to slap to aid his mental health, I'm easy to find). I am also vexed about this set aside for white men that John claims exists in the FDNY. Contact me, John, and I will work with you to expose and eliminate it.

A set aside for any group is wrong (as you unwittingly acknowledge when you complain about this one) as is hiring or promoting someone because of their race or gender. Yet that is what you and your "like-minded agents of change" constantly demand. Individuals who happen to be women, or Asian, or black or Hispanic are all capable of becoming firefighters and the opportunity for them to do so exists. They should not, however, be hired simply predicated on their membership in a group. If we adopt your mantra that employees in a geographical area must reflect the population, there are going to be a lot of very tall, very angry black men who will no longer be able to play in the NBA. If they ask me why, I'm gonna tell them it's your fault!

Dr. King dreamed of the day that his children would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. The Vulcans, apparently, disagree. A Supreme Court Justice once stated that the best way to end discrimination based on race was to stop discriminating based on race. Demanding equal opportunity is admirable; demanding special treatment makes you Sharpton.


One more thing - I have a task for Firefighter Coombs. John, if you truly believe that I am racist, bigoted and not fit to work in the diverse neighborhoods of New York City, then as a leader in the African-American community you are obligated to lodge an official EEO complaint against me. It's time to put up or shut up.

PAUL D. MANNIX, Deputy Chief, FDNY



UNQUOTE.......Paul Mannix for Mayor......no wait ......Paul Mannix for President.

[68jk09]

FROM THE NY DAILY NEWS......QUOTE........The Fire Department yesterday invited New Yorkers to take what will surely be the most analyzed, revised and scrutinized firefighters' hiring exam in the city's history.

The FDNY test that measures the exact qualities necessary to be a topflight member of the Bravest. The FDNY test that gives all comers, including black applicants, a fair shot.

It had better do both.

Call it the Garaufis Test after Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who ruled that the last three FDNY tests violated anti-discrimination law because (a) as a group blacks did not score as well as whites, and (b) in the judge's view the tests did not ask questions relevant to determining suitability for the job.

Now, though, a special master appointed by Garaufis, former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, is supervising test development with experts hired by the city, the Justice Department and the black firefighters organization, the Vulcans. For good measure, White has her own expert.

According to the latest report she filed with the court, the experts have expertly studied the skills, tasks and abilities required of rookie firefighters and are developing test questions designed to ferret out who makes the grade.

Before job applicants take the exam, it will be administered to working firefighters in order to determine whether scores match job performance. In theory, high scores should match high workplace reviews.

Additionally, the test will be administered for the first time via computer screen and will for the first time include video and audio questions, a step apparently designed to equalize between applicants who read well enough to do the job and applicants who have reading skills far beyond those that are necessary

On paper, this all makes sense - with the possible exception of that bit about reading ability. Judgment is reserved on whether the exam is being watered down to the department's detriment.

Fire Commissioner Sal Cassano said the department will spend more than $1 million advertising the test, to be given in January. The goal is to increase minority participation.

But test-takers of every background will be ill-served if Garaufis determines that, despite all the effort, this new exam is as discriminatory as he felt past ones were.

White must get all the parties, including the Vulcans, to agree that the test is well-developed and to accept without challenge that the results will be valid regardless of how well the members of any particular group score. And Garaufis will need to accept those facts as well.


UNQUOTE.

[68jk09]

http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/insider/resources/do/2012/045_sup_35_2012.pdf

[68jk09]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57461574/3-judges-hear-landmark-fdny-discrimination-case/

[68jk09]

WTF.....I hope these "testimonies" at this so called "fairness hearing"  are videotaped & made public record..........                                                                                         http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/60-000-test-takers-call-fdny-bias-case-article-1.1108828

[68jk09]

http://bed-stuy.patch.com/articles/in-a-dramatic-turnaround-number-of-fdny-applicants-of-color-skyrockets