Volies' New Firehouse Stopped Dead By DOT

[ja488]

Volies' New Firehouse Stopped Dead By DOT

By Howard Schwach
In March of 2005, Congressman Anthony Weiner stunned the 100th anniversary dinner of the Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department with news that he and Senator Hillary Clinton had come up with $1 million dollars to build a new firehouse on Cross Bay Boulevard to replace the 100-year-old Noel Road facility.
Weiner warned the crowd that the allocation of the money in an omnibus transportation bill would only be the first step in a long road.
Now, however, three years later, that road appears to be blocked by the city's Department of Transportation (DOT) and officials of the volunteer organization fear that the money - and the firehouse - will be lost forever.
"We thought that we'd be in the final stretch by now," said Dan McIntyre, the fire department's chief. "We were on the ten yard line and we could see the goal line."
The volies were down to a few final touches. The federal money had been allocated and they had raised most of the $400,000 they had to put into the project as matching funds.
The event was in May of 2005. Now, more than three years later, the project is being held up by the city's DOT. All that was left, they believed, was for the Department of Transportation to file a Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) application with the feds and then they could hold their mandated open house meeting, which they planned to use as a fundraiser.
Then, construction could begin and their dream could be fulfilled.
That was their dream until officials at the DOT refused to return their calls and they were informed by City Councilman Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. that the DOT would probably not file the required TIP, killing the project for good."We were told all along by the Department of Design and Construction (DDC), [the agency that had been chosen as the project's city sponsor] that there would be no problem, that the two agencies had worked together many times and that the TIP was a foregone conclusion," said Edward O'Hare, the organization's president.
"This was not going to be a big deal."
"Now," O'Hare adds, "the DOT won't even speak with us and doesn't want anything to do with the project."
O'Hare said that Addabbo promised to set up a meeting between DOT and the volies last summer, but that the councilman "blew them off all summer with excuses and stalling tactics."
And, while the DOT refuses to provide any information about its refusal to file the necessary papers, O'Hare says that he heard a number of rumors.
"First, we heard that they didn't want to be involved with the project because they were afraid of cost overruns and they didn't want to be responsible for any money. But we had all the money," O'Hare said. "Then, we heard that the fire department decided that it didn't want us to have a new firehouse. Now, we're hearing that there is a vendetta between Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Anthony Weiner over the election and Bloomberg doesn't want Weiner to get any credit for the new facility. We may never know what the real story is."
O'Hare said that the idea for the new firehouse came from a 1993 study they conducted for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The study showed that the community needed a new, all-purpose emergency management center that could be quickly put on-line in case of a hurricane or other emergency situation.
"They wanted a triage center, a place that its workers could use as a control center," O'Hare said. "They didn't care if we also used it as a firehouse."
Five years ago, Senator Hillary Clinton came to Broad Channel for a ceremony commemorating the Korean War. Officials from the volies spoke with her about the dilapidated firehouse and took her on a tour of the facility. She was reportedly shocked and promised to help the volies. She supported the transportation bill in the Senate.
What happens next? McIntyre and O'Hare have reached out to city officials, who include Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheeky, for help. They recently wrote a letter to Bloomberg asking him to assist them in removing the DOT roadblock.
They pointed out to the mayor that costs rise all the time and the quicker the project gets completed, the better.
That letter was sent to the mayor on September 9, and so far there has been no response.
So, the volies wait and wonder why the city won't allow them to use federal funds to improve the quality of life for all Broad Channel residents.
Repeated calls and emails to the DOT for comment remain unreturned at press time.

 

[Bulldog]

Aside from the fact that this is another case where NYC politics is screwing up another construction project, you have to ask why so much Federal money was given to this project.  This fire department is an insignificant piece of the fire protection scheme of NYC and many question why it and the other volunteer companies in NYC still exist.  Other fire station projects, especially volunteer ones get no or minimal government support while being built yet this one is receiving a huge sum all Federal money, kind of makes you wonder why.  Nothing against the organization but it seems kind of strange.

 

[vbcapt]

Agree. There's got to be more to this story than what's officially being put out.

 

[guitarman314]

Here are some updated photos of their apparatus: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/specialunits/bc.htm

 

[nycvollie]

Depends on your definition of insignificant.  If by insignificant you mean a 100% volunteer company that provides both fire and ems services, doesn't cost the tax payers any money, 85% of the time arrives on the scenes prior to FDNY fire or ems apparatus(seconds & minues=lives lost) have been operating out of the same wood frame building since 1908, have saved countless lives and property since that time and still does so on a daily basis, and doesnt receive any funding from the city or state while doing it (with the exception of this one project to give them a new house to continue operating out of) and on many occasions during natural disasters ie. hurricanes, nor'easters etc... operated on their own because of other city agencies being unable to respond due to the high flood waters, have been called upon by the FDNY fire & ems for mutual aid on countless occasions......did I mention they don't get paid for it?!  Yup, pretty insignificant.

 

[vbcapt]

I do not believe he meant to slight anyone by using the term "insignificant". The term was probably used based on the City as a whole when you look at the grand scheme of things. I'm sure Broad Channel does good things. Additionally, everything costs the taxpayers money regardless if the money is a tax or willfully given, a dollar is a dollar. Any charitable organization that operates receives money from somebody or some entity, the money doesn't appear out of thin air. 

 

[nycvollie]

True....but if that is the case, then I would venture to say that the only thing insignificant here is the amount of money it costs the city(on the grand scale of things) to keep these dedicated men & women & children(some of the depts have junior squads) and their respective companies in service.  There should be no price when it comes to life or death.

 

[gamewell45]

It would seem to me that the city would want to encourage, rather then hinder the volunteers in their efforts, but as an earlier poster mentioned, there might well be more to this then then meets the eye.  Nonetheless i wish them all the best in completing their project; I've seen pictures of their house and at least from the outside looking in, they could definitely use more space.

 

[vbcapt]

There's no doubt they need & deserve a new house. Who knows what trifling foolishness is going on behind the scenes to hinder its completion

 

[3511]

No taxpayer money?

I used to live in small town in Oklahoma. We had a volunteer fire department with an old firehouse, circa 1920's. We ran with an old Ford pumper and a mid mount aerial ladder. When we wished to upgrade the aerial to a modern bucket type (tower ladder) the purchase would include a renovation to the the front doors of the firehouse to allow the new truck access to the old house. Town residents agreed to the upgrade in both apparatus and facilities, and events were organized to raise funds (bake sales, raffles,ect.) as well as an increase in the local fire tax assessment for the improvement. Done deal. We never thought to ask the federal government to pay for it. Why would the federal taxes of a resident in New York City be responsible for our firehouse and new equipment?

After 9/11, I am reasonably sure that the town residents  have agreed to some of their federal taxes helping the FDNY. After all, it is the best department in the world, an American treasure, and was devastated in a national event.

I am sure that the Broad Channel Fire Department is as good as stated.  If it is that critical and needs improvement, surely the local residents would agree to fund its upgrade, as those in Oklahoma did, and every other town in America does.

If the locals do not support it that way, why not petition the City of New York to provide better protection in Broad Channel? Let the City, or the FDNY, decide if that is more important than a new house in growing Staten Island or a nightime ladder company in City Island in the Bronx. Maybe disband the Broad Channel company to make the point.

But if the FDNY is the best, why do the residents of Oklahoma, through their federal taxes, have to pay for a volunteer company's upgrade in New York City?

 

[RPM3311]

No taxpayer money?

I used to live in small town in Oklahoma. We had a volunteer fire department with an old firehouse, circa 1920's. We ran with an old Ford pumper and a mid mount aerial ladder. When we wished to upgrade the aerial to a modern bucket type (tower ladder) the purchase would include a renovation to the the front doors of the firehouse to allow the new truck access to the old house. Town residents agreed to the upgrade in both apparatus and facilities, and events were organized to raise funds (bake sales, raffles,ect.) as well as an increase in the local fire tax assessment for the improvement. Done deal. We never thought to ask the federal government to pay for it. Why would the federal taxes of a resident in New York City be responsible for our firehouse and new equipment?

After 9/11, I am reasonably sure that the town residents  have agreed to some of their federal taxes helping the FDNY. After all, it is the best department in the world, an American treasure, and was devastated in a national event.

I am sure that the Broad Channel Fire Department is as good as stated.  If it is that critical and needs improvement, surely the local residents would agree to fund its upgrade, as those in Oklahoma did, and every other town in America does.

If the locals do not support it that way, why not petition the City of New York to provide better protection in Broad Channel? Let the City, or the FDNY, decide if that is more important than a new house in growing Staten Island or a nightime ladder company in City Island in the Bronx. Maybe disband the Broad Channel company to make the point.

But if the FDNY is the best, why do the residents of Oklahoma, through their federal taxes, have to pay for a volunteer company's upgrade in New York City?

I'm very confused here, you cant compare a volunteer company in oklahoma to a volunteer company in the largest city in the country, its not easy to do fundraising in a place like NYC to get money for a small company like Broad Channel. I'm not sure of i read this right but are you saying that they should disband Broad Channel so they could keep the other companies around at night? Broad Channel is taking in 0.00 dollars from the FDNY so that would just be taking away fire protection from more people in NYC. What they should do is Broad Channel should get a portion of the taxes that the residents in their first due pay to the city to finance their organization. Why should the resistants in Broad Channel's first due pay taxes when in they don't benefit from them? Their first line of defense is hurting but their tax dollars are going to a department whose first due they don't even live in. 

 

[gamewell45]

No taxpayer money?

I used to live in small town in Oklahoma. We had a volunteer fire department with an old firehouse, circa 1920's. We ran with an old Ford pumper and a mid mount aerial ladder. When we wished to upgrade the aerial to a modern bucket type (tower ladder) the purchase would include a renovation to the the front doors of the firehouse to allow the new truck access to the old house. Town residents agreed to the upgrade in both apparatus and facilities, and events were organized to raise funds (bake sales, raffles,ect.) as well as an increase in the local fire tax assessment for the improvement. Done deal. We never thought to ask the federal government to pay for it. Why would the federal taxes of a resident in New York City be responsible for our firehouse and new equipment?

After 9/11, I am reasonably sure that the town residents  have agreed to some of their federal taxes helping the FDNY. After all, it is the best department in the world, an American treasure, and was devastated in a national event.

I am sure that the Broad Channel Fire Department is as good as stated.  If it is that critical and needs improvement, surely the local residents would agree to fund its upgrade, as those in Oklahoma did, and every other town in America does.

If the locals do not support it that way, why not petition the City of New York to provide better protection in Broad Channel? Let the City, or the FDNY, decide if that is more important than a new house in growing Staten Island or a nightime ladder company in City Island in the Bronx. Maybe disband the Broad Channel company to make the point.

But if the FDNY is the best, why do the residents of Oklahoma, through their federal taxes, have to pay for a volunteer company's upgrade in New York City?

Building a new fire station in New York costs al bit more then modifying doors and upgrading apparatus and as such bake sales, bingo and raffles just don't cut the mustard.  You'd likely never get the station built if you depended upon that; the US government recognizing that and the contribution that volunteers make to the community was most likely a strong factor in awarding the monies.  Furthermore, as a resident of the state of New York; we pay a lot more taxes to the Federal Government i'm sure then most states do, so when the government offers send money back to New York to assist a volunteer organization to improve its facilities so they can serve the public better, I'm all for it. I honestly think its money well spent.

 

[Bulldog]

Building a new fire station in New York costs al bit more then modifying doors and upgrading apparatus and as such bake sales, bingo and raffles just don't cut the mustard.  You'd likely never get the station built if you depended upon that; the US government recognizing that and the contribution that volunteers make to the community was most likely a strong factor in awarding the monies.  Furthermore, as a resident of the state of New York; we pay a lot more taxes to the Federal Government i'm sure then most states do, so when the government offers send money back to New York to assist a volunteer organization to improve its facilities so they can serve the public better, I'm all for it. I honestly think its money well spent.

I have a hard time following this line of thinking.  Yes you are correct that building a new fire station will cost more but I'm sure the average income level and property value in the area is also much higher than it is in Oklahoma.  Every volunteer fire department I've been in or know of has always raised its own money either through fundraising or taxes on its citizens.  I've never heard of one getting Federal money except through some of the grant programs that all departments can apply for. 

Why should this fire department be any different?  It has the greatest fire department in the world for backup while many others in the nation have to stand alone or wait a considerable length of time for their backups to arrive.  Isn't this district is actually part of NYC?  If it is its citizens are paying taxes to NYC which should cover their fire protection needs whether its equipment, manpower or a fire station.  Maybe the local officials need to ask NYC for funding instead of trying to get Federal money.

Pork Barrel projects like this are one of the reasons are Federal budget is so out of control.  You mentioned New York paying a lot of Federal taxes, they actually receive more Federal money than they pay so in reality the rest of the country is helping to support New York.  Other than true national needs such as military, interstate highways, etc. each community should receive equal benefits compared to their taxes paid to the Federal government and this fire district should be no different.

 

[cfd123]

your saying they should ask the city for money??? yea that will go over well when the city is shutting down FDNY companies because it doesnt have enough in thier budget already...

another point asking people for money especially in a city of new york is not easy. you get looked at as nothing but homeless and they walk around u instead of helping u out.

i know what you are talking about but until u experiance how big cities and more urban areas work you cant judge why they give broad channel more money and other volunteer depts less

 

[manhattan]

I agree strongly with vbcapt ("...There's got to be more to this story than what's officially being put out.").  It sounds like there's either political influnce, lack of political influence, bureaucratic incompetence or some other factor at work.

As far as raising money, this isn't necessarily an either-or proposition.  Broad Channel is a fairly small community which, as one of hundreds of fairly small communities, make up the City of New York. Yes, the Feds should make the money available because it was legislated for a good cause.  Not all "pork," whether it comes from DC, Albany or Chambers Street is bad; it's part of an elected official's job to make sure that local-level projects are kept alive and funded as necessary.  Volunteer departments are staffed by those who live and/or work in a community, who are willing to donate their time, efforts and, in this case, possibly their health, safety and lives for an ideal greater than the self (and, yes, I realize that there may be a few who are in it  for less altruistic reasons).  Considering the very hard economic times that are about to come, people like these will be an even more vital part of life, not only here in the city, but across the country and their service must be supported financially and in other ways.  As more paid, professional companies are taken out of service, even for one tour overnight, the need for response will increase.

However, the community has a responsibilty to put well-publicized pressure on the politicians when something like this happens.  They also have the option of starting their own supplemental fund raising efforts in the communities which they serve (I'm assuming here that the Broad Channel vollies provide mutual aid services outside their own community, as they did at the Trade Center).

The real question rermains as vbcapt alluded to: what's going on behind the scenes that caused this?

 

[NYCvolley]

broad channels firehouse is completely run down, Im suprised the city hasnt order them to vacate like they did with aviation  volleys in the bx. they deserve a new firehouse. Im suprised the city is not supporting this you would think they would want volunteer fds in this day and age with the economy. We do not respond out of our set boundarys and do not take city ff jobs away.

 

[ja488]

The difference with Aviation is that they shared the building with someone else, who destroyed the other 1/2, thus getting the whole building condemned. The Channels place is run down, but yet still maintained by the Brothers.

 

[FDNY 6012]

broad channels firehouse is completely run down, Im suprised the city hasnt order them to vacate like they did with aviation  volleys in the bx. they deserve a new firehouse. Im suprised the city is not supporting this you would think they would want volunteer fds in this day and age with the economy. We do not respond out of our set boundarys and do not take city ff jobs away.

I highly doubt the city would care about the volley depts right now. If the city is making the FDNY cut back on its budget why would they want to help out the volleys? The city already has a handful of problems and finacial issues to deal with.

 

[NYCvolley]

Because it does not cost the city  anything

 

[vbcapt]

If you ask for NYC help (funds), it does.