Packed Rally To Save City Island Firehouse

CITY ISLAND, NY (PIX11)— 

Hundreds of City Island neighbors steaming mad at the impending loss of vital firefighters turned out to protest the planned closure of 20 firehouses.

City Island residents say they're especially vulnerable since the next closest fire company would take 10 minutes or more to get them, and it could be double due to traffic or when the two drawbridges that give access to their island are raised.



"We are here to make sure our ladder company does not close" Councilman James Vacca shouted to his constituents who packed into the famed Lido restaurant ballroom on City Island Avenue. His words were met with copious applause and shouts of approval.

"This is politics pure and simple. They are trying to balance the budget in New York by putting lives at risk," Lt. Ed Boles declared as hundreds gathered behind him to rally to keep the house open.

The FDNY is trying to plug a $50 million hole Bloomberg created to balance the budget. But voters on City Island say other things, like bike lanes, should be shot down before fire houses get shut down.

Outraged seniors showed up in force to protest the changes. Helen Anderson, a 50-year resident whose father founded a marina near the turn of the century, said she would have to simply watch her 3-story, wood-framed historic home burn if her Ladder 53 had to close. She has attended every march, meeting and rally to fight for the survival of the vital, life-saving equipment.

Politicians from across the borough spoke feverishly to support keeping the fire company open.


If the closures go through as planned, doors could be shut by July 1.

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