FDNY Commissioner Cassano Out, New Mayor Says

April 22, 2014
Sal Cassano was appointed in 2010.

Any hopes Fire Commissioner Sal Cassano had for staying on with the new administration went up in smoke Monday — after Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed he would be replaced.

“It’s been clear from the beginning it’s an interim role,” said the mayor, who praised the FDNY’s response to the Harlem gas explosion in March.

Cassano, a 40-year FDNY veteran who was appointed commissioner by then-Mayor Mike Bloomberg in 2010, had been hoping to join the few holdovers from the prior administration.

The Staten Island resident would also be one of the few agency heads who currently live in that borough.

When pressed, de Blasio declined to say why Cassano was being replaced or when a new commissioner would be appointed.

“I think I’ve said all I have to say,” de Blasio said. “He’s interim.”

Another Bloomberg appointee, longtime Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty, retired last month after agreeing to stay on through the winter.

Office of Emergency Management chief Joe Bruno has also stayed on through the transition between administrations.

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