FDNY to LIC: Don’t bother yelling Fire in Dutch Kills. Or Roosevelt Island.

I think #115 will be affected by the #116 closing as well, since now they will be called upon to handle fires in DK and probably sometimes in RI as well. That means if there’s a fire at the waterfront, the truck might be out somewhere pretty far away. We should all invest in some fire extinguishers and maybe also basic training on how to properly handle a household fire.

All very good points, except that it appears that the #116 is second busiest firehouse in Queens. Seems like a pretty stupid decision to close that one, and surely one that could cost some lives.

Well #3, you proved my point. If they went to some other firehouse I’m sure there would be some equally compelling reason to keep that one open and so on and so on. This is why we get into these fiscal crisis. Everyone refuses to budge so nothing ever gets cut and we just keep spending like there’s no problem. Personally I wish they would cut some of the fat and waste before messing with cops and firemen, but any cut is a good one.

#6 never had a union job, eh?

8, right. There’s no problem coughing up for bailouts and taxpayer supported subsidies to billionaires and financial industry scumbags while casting blame on middle-class people just trying to get along in this insanely expensive city — people who do much more valuable work in keeping this city functioning and safe than any a-hole on Wall Street.

10, you mean build up a strong middle class that was able to live productive lives and enjoy the fruits of their hard labor? The car industry was plagued by terrible management and lack of vision — why don’t you blame them for the collapse of those industries? They’re the ones who ran these places. To blame workers who built up those industries and made good products for many years is shameful. This race to the bottom in this country, where we’re expected to treat our workers like China and India while the execs bleed their companies dry, is what’s breaking us apart.

9- go cry me a river. Your comments show that you do not know what you are talking about. Do you think the executives at Bear Stearns made out intact? They were wiped out. The company and its creditors were held up because otherwise we would have had another Great Depression. Look what happened after Lehman went down. If we didn’t bail out the money markets unemployment would be over 20%.

The unions are the worst problem in the country right now. The automakers went down because labor costs were too high and work rules too restrictive. The government worker unions are even worse. You can’t justify paying people for 30 years who are not working. You can’t justify the excessive pensions and benefits. They whole system is screwed up.

Government union workers need to switch to defined contribution plans and they need to pay toward their health benefits. Those two fixes alone (which would also fix the early retirement problem) would save the city and state budgets.

#9, I would point out that the banks that were bailed out in general have paid back the money – with interest. The US governement has made billions on their investments. The automakers who are heavily indebted to the labor unions on the other hand have not paid a red cent back and have no viable plan to do so.

Also the cost of living in NYC is high in part because of unions. Research indicates that the cost of running a unionized operation is 25% to 35% greater than for a non-unionized one, and this figure does not reflect any negotiated changes in unionized employee wages or benefits. Who do you think is paying for this? Consumers.

We will know on May 17th what houses will be shut down. The Community Boards require a 45-day notice when a firehouse is closing and the Mayor doesn’t plan on giving them an extra day to fight it.
There was a rally at L116 last week but it is because Engine 261 (that was quartered in the same firehouse on 29th St) was closed by Bloomberg in 2003. There is no evidence that L116 is on the chopping block but from rumors floating around, we would all be “very surprised” at what companies will close.

If L116 closes, their response area will be split up and added to the response areas of L115 on 47th Ave, L163 on 51st St, and L117 on Astoria Blvd.

20, they may be even more necessary today because workers have become an expendable commodity. Look the problem is not wages and benefits. It’s the dependency on foreign production of just about everything. This is unfortunately fueled not only by management seeking the largest possible margin but also by the very same workers who want constantly new but cheap goods.

Asia loves what suckers we are.