June 23, 2003 -- Protesters angry over the closing of a Brooklyn firehouse heckled and hounded Mayor Bloomberg yesterday at a ceremony to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Williamsburg Bridge. A near melee broke out shortly before 1 p.m., when several people waved money in the mayor's face - a commentary on the recent budget-driven closing of six firehouses.
"There's just no money. What program do you want to cut instead?" Bloomberg asked a woman who waved a dollar bill at him as he left the event at the Brooklyn end of the bridge.
Paul Veneski, 38, then slapped a $20 bill on the mayor's windshield.
"Bloomberg right now is the enemy," Veneski said. "We're not here to disrupt, we just want to get our point across."
Veneski and the other protesters want the city to reopen Engine Co. 212, a short distance from the bridge on White Street.
The Williamsburg company's home was nicknamed "The People's Firehouse" after a successful battle to keep it open in 1975.
The controversy overshadowed what was supposed to be a feel-good event to celebrate the bridge.
Protesters strung up three large banners on a building across the street from the ceremony, calling on the mayor to reopen the firehouse.
And a protester with a bullhorn inside the building sounded off several times in the lull between official speakers.
At one point, a group of more than a dozen chanting protesters got close to the mayor as he posed for a picture by a giant birthday cake, made with sugar donated by the Brooklyn-based Domino company.
"Buy Domino sugar," the mayor joked, waving a packet provided by the company.
"You can't put out a fire with sugar," one of the protesters shot back.
Bloomberg's security detail surrounded the mayor and kept back the protesters, some of whom were pushing and shoving.
