June 24, 2017 By Jason Cohen
Dutch Kills residents are fighting to get their FDNY Engine Company back.
Residents are calling for its return after it closed 14 years ago, saying it is needed since the population continues to grow.
They held a rally Friday along with elected leaders, firefighters and union officials demanding the City reopen Engine 261 located at 37-20 29th Street.
Budget cuts under Mayor Michael Bloomberg forced the engine company, responsible for putting water on flames, to move out in 2003. Ladder Company 116, which handles rescues, remains.
The firehouse is located within blocks of Ravenswood Houses, Kaufman Astoria Studios, the Museum of the Moving Image and several schools.
“We must do all we can to support our City’s bravest and keep our growing community safe from the devastating power of a fire,” Van Bramer said. “Engine Company 261 gave the people of this neighborhood comfort for over a century, and today we call for it to be reopened so that our City’s brave firefighters can once again provide life-saving help to the rapidly growing population in Long Island City and Dutch Kills.”
Since Engine Company 261 closed, more than 12,000 new housing units have been built in Long Island City, with another 20,000-plus in the works, according to data from the Long Island City Partnership.
“Firehouses are vital to our communities,” said Gerard Fitzgerald, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association. “When our neighborhoods grow and develop, fire protection and the amount of first responders in the area should also increase. “Engine Company 261 should be re-opened today as it provides a much-needed level of safety and protection to a booming population in Long Island City.”
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11 Comments
I think what need to be done is to is to reopen a lot of the companys that have been shuttered over the last decades not just the 6 that Bloomberg closed about but bring back some that former mayors closed second to get a on line petition going saying that the mayors office needs to have it control over the fdny stripped and 3rd is we all know the commissioner is a puppet controlled by the mayor dislove the board of commissiers . My dad who is a has been a chief for over 30 years his hands were tied because we had a commissioners that told him what to do we got rid of the board and now he is free to do what he wants we have gotten a lot of new nessary equipement Instead of replacing bunker gear every 8 years he know it down to every 4 years he has it so each firefighter has a primary set plus to 2 back upsets with the board of commissioners gone we saved the closing of a 2nd quint which doubles engine /ladder company out at our sand hill road station also now with the commissioners gone in stead of replacing engines every 15 years it cut in half to 7.5 there was so mutch red tape when we had our commissioners it was like moral was real low when he had them and now were facing the most hires we had in 2o years and moral is better than ever and we got staffing now to make the truck company 24/7 /365 with the new hires we could never do that under the board of commissioners with them it was always find ways to cut the budget and now with the more money in the budget were able to do more and when we got rid of the commissioners we got rid of city hall control And we did it with the help of a online petition and with taxpayer help
If not for some of the commenters here, I for one would have had no idea about this issue. OMG, to think all these beautiful towers being touted about are potentially LESS safe than older ones. We know there aren’t enough schools & transportation; sounds like there won’t be enough EMERGENCY services- ‘ cause they just keep building…Fire Stations should be issue#1!!! ..Everyone keep getting the word out about this, please, & thank you. God bless the FDNY,always..
Rob, another Firehouse couldn’t hurt in a “REAL” emergency such as in LONDON’s recent fire. If they so choose an EMT station could be put with the Fire Co.
I worked there years ago. There have been a few attempts to re-open E261 to no avail.
In the past various local state pol’s have sent letters to the city and have publicly voice their concerns of the closing of E261.
Did Van Bramer just realize E261 was closed for all these years?
He has had the power and money to reopen E261 for years but has refused to spend it on the real needs of long time residents and new ones as the area grows. He seems too busy posing with garbage cans on the street and promoting the failed “vision zero” plan.(which is completely built to fail) instead of the safety of the ones who have put him in office.
Stop begging for money from all the real estate developers and actually do something that will keep the neighborhood safe.
Dutch kills doesn’t need another firehouse. Almost all those buildings are built within new codes and regulations that minimize the chance of catastrophic fires. To meet the needs of the increasing population, that firehouse should be converted to an EMS station and staffed 24/7.
You have no idea what your taking about.
DON’T DO IT! Parking will be worse because the trucks need to come in and out so there’ll be “no parking” signs in the trucks arch.
Really you more concerned about parking. Probably the first one to whine when you would need them and the Fire dept is delayed.
Although built with new regulation, new construction has the ability to be more dangerous than old construction because the sprinkler systems are designed to keep a fire in check not extinguish. Sprinklers are not placed in cock lofts and has the ability to burn the building from roof down trapping victims inside. Understand your facts before you open your mouth.
You realize modern construction burns faster and the building fails faster. This is due to cheaper building methods like trusses with gusset plates, and things like compressed manufactured wood for joists which burn at an alarming rate. Please do research before you run the pie hole.
You dont know much about construction do you? Modern buildings burn faster and hotter then old buildings you have less time to get out then in older buildings. Only way to protect the public is getting water on fire as fast as you can. The buildings are built with lighter weight materials that will collapse faster and are filled with materials made of plastic and gasoline. Just look at the modern building that had a sprinkler system that burned in edgewater nj a couple years ago. Or the fire that just occurred in Wildwood crest NJ.