Like everything else in NYC, the priorities are so far out of whack that you might be tricked into thinking that this is some kind joke. Also, keep in mind, sometimes politicians will propose outlandish bills to get their names in to the papers or peoples' conversations, all the while knowing that the bill will never pass.
On a similar note, if you have driven through any part of the 5 boroughs lately, it doesn't take much to see that the intentions of the brilliant minds that designed the layout and traffic laws of this city so many years ago are being completely disregarded for the sake of trendy initiatives like vision zero. What people tend to forget is that the city planners of past had the FDNY, BFD, and fire protection in general in mind as things were being laid out. Unfortunately, in present day, all facets of history are branded as cruel, insensitive, racist, noninclusive, insensitive, etc. and the city roads and laws are no exception. Initiatives like Vision Zero are designed to simply appease wealthy pedestrians & bicyclists that don't stray more than a few blocks from their lovely brownstones or luxury homes wherever. These are the same people that probably never had to actually get in, out, or around the city for anything other than leisure. If you think that Bill DeBlasio was troubled to any extent (let alone to the point that he decided the need to create a policy known as Vision Zero) when the NYPD reported yet another random middle-aged person crossing the street was struck by a speeding vehicle, than I have a bridge to sell you.
I bring this up because there was a reason why you didn't allow cars to park within the first 20 feet of a narrow block--The rigs (tiller or not) cannot make the turn onto the block efficiently if cars were parked there! You can't put Citi bike stations on that same corner because of the same reason. The disregard for these intentions are blatant around the city: Practically zero enforcement of illegally parked cars (MOST NOTABLY HYDRANT ENFORCEMENT!), the narrowing of main thoroughfares to allow for multi-lane bike lanes or pedestrian walkways, narrowing of intersections so that bigger vehicles AKA rigs cannot swing out--they instead must come to a creep in order to make the turn, adding immovable objects like medians to restrict vehicular traffic, flat out closing streets permanently for things like the NYC Open Streets initiative, Speed bumps on practically every block, anyone driving any vehicle terrified that they are going to cream the near-silent E-Biker (again no enforcement to get illegal vehicles off the street) trying to squeeze between a moving vehicle and the parked cars, the flooding of all 5 boroughs with God awful ride share drivers like Uber and Lyft (again no regulation to limit the number permitted), and we all know the list goes on. The concerning thing about these detrimental changes is that these are not simply street signs prohibiting drivers from doing X, Y, & Z. Instead, these are physical barriers and obstructions that are completely handcuffing chauffeurs from doing things that their respective firehouses and companies have been doing since they first opened their doors. They physically cannot drive the rigs in places that they could 2, 5 or 10 years ago.
We all know that fire duty is historically down and has been trending that way for years. That coupled with the fact that the current FDNY as a whole has never had better training available, never has been better equipped (namely bunker gear), and never has been better prepared to fight fire. This ultimately leads to the simple fact that fire-related deaths are down. The people approving these detrimental decisions are not facing any backlash from the public because deaths from reckless driving and fire alike, are down. It's just the Brothers that are suffering, it has never been more difficult to get to boxes timely and safely. In their minds, they say, "look at all the progress we made, we limited speeding, generated millions in speed cameras, reduced accidents, and road-related injuries & deaths are down, all the while we didn't jeopardize the public's fire protection or put people at risk of being injured in a fire."
To get off my soapbox and back to the original article, the changing of the siren would be very similar to what I outlined above. Overall, the FDNY or city wouldn't be portrayed in worse light if they chose to change the siren. The fires would still go out, we would go deeper than we ever did thanks to the bunker gear, hopefully get the people in time, and all would be well in the world. But what you wont hear is that, the job of the actual firefighters, officers, and chiefs became that much more difficult to get the scene timely, the response times went up, and the general morale of the collective FDNY members is down because the unlicensed guy driving the illegal, unregistered, and uninsured E-bike for the last 15 years without being stopped a single time by enforcement can get around the city faster by blowing red lights, driving against traffic, and on the side walks than a responding FDNY rig. For the record, that E-Bike had to be replaced in 2019 after the lithium battery let go on his first E-bike inside his illegal top floor H-Type SRO that resulted in the entire top floor of the H needing to be replaced because the fire got into the cockloft, because the guys couldn't get there fast enough because etc etc. Thankfully all the residents were okay because the Brothers did what the Brothers do, did the job, and didn't complain (to anyone worth listening), and as always, overcame the adversity and got the job done because that is what they Swore to do! Sometimes I wish just a fraction of the decision makers lived by the same morals instead of doing what gets you the most brownie points or appeases the biggest donor.
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