Move over, Johnny Lungs!
There's another "disabled" FDNY retiree who's off to the races - NASCAR Cliff.
Cliff Stabner, a 55-year-old city firefighter who retired in 2003 with a three-quarter disability pension of $95,000 annually, has surfaced as a member of the fire rescue team responding to crashes at Dover International Speedway in Delaware.
The Post has obtained photos of Stabner wearing an orange jumpsuit and a helmet and standing next to a rescue vehicle at Dover's "Monster Mile'' track.
Stabner also is a fire captain in his quaint new hometown of Lewes, Del.
He's even been seen climbing roofs.
Stabner's vigorous post-retirement activities are reminiscent of those of John "Johnny Lungs" McLaughlin, the retired FDNY firefighter from Long Beach, LI, who left the department with a disability pension after being diagnosed with bronchial ailments - and then competed in numerous marathons and decathlons.
Stabner is believed to have obtained his disability pension - which is 25 percent more than a regular pension - based on lung-related issues. He was overweight at the time, which may have been a factor, said a source familiar with Stabner's case.
The source said it's outrageous that the city approved him for the pension.
"If you have a disability pension, why are you fighting fires and doing NASCAR?" said the whistleblower, who requested anonymity.
"We as citizens are paying for the higher disability pensions. It drives me crazy. How is it OK? It doesn't make any sense."
The private, business-backed Citizens Budget Commission, which has pushed for an overhaul of the FDNY's disability-pension standards, also slammed Stabner's payouts.
"I'd rather have [Stabner] running into a building in New York City rather than rushing to NASCAR accidents if we're paying a 75 percent disability pension," said the CBC's Carol Kellerman. "The problem is that many of these firefighters are not really disabled."
The FDNY medical and pension boards, she said, "are just routinely approving these claims."
About three-quarters of FDNY firefighters retired with disability pensions in recent years, up from 50 percent before 9/11. The FDNY pension fund paid out $588 million for disability pensions last year, more than double the figure from a decade ago.
But Stabner defended his disability status and his retirement activities, insisting he abided by the rules.
"Is that illegal? There are laws? Is that against the pension system? Is it against the law?" he asked.
Stabner was a member of FDNY Rescue Co. 3 in The Bronx, which lost seven firefighters on 9/11, and he participated in rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center.
"It's 10 years later. I'm banged up from my life physically and psychologically,'' he said. "I have serious medical issues."
Asked to specify, he said, "That's my business."
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