A top FDNY chief is pitting himself against the agency’s lone high-ranking woman in a bitter power struggle that may cost him his job, the Daily News has learned.
At the heart of the battle is Chief of Department James Leonard, 59, a tough-talking officer who started as a firefighter in Brooklyn’s Engine 310 in 1979 and is now the highest-ranked uniformed officer in the agency — second only to Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
But for all his success, what some in the FDNY call Leonard’s abrasive and aggressive manner — and allegations he sometimes uses misogynistic slurs — have put him out of step in a department striving mightily to get into the 21st century, sources told The News.
His tendency to shout at and berate other chiefs in private and public has raised hackles — and his apparent deep dislike of First Deputy Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, the second-highest ranking civilian administrator in the department and the lone woman in the uppermost tier, is an open secret, sources said.
“You never know if you’re getting nice Jimmy or his other side — he’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” said a source.
Leonard has been known to order staff to seat Kavanagh on the other side of the room from him at events and has allegedly told other chiefs to freeze her out of internal communications and report back directly to him — or else, sources told The News.
Leonard also once allegedly publicly upbraided a popular FDNY chaplain — who happens to be a woman and a lesbian — after the Gay Pride Parade in 2015 for an imagined infraction, sources said.
Kavanagh’s rise in the FDNY has nearly outpaced Leonard, and some say she’s making a power play of her own against him. She joined the department as a mayoral appointee in 2014 after working as a senior advisor on Mayor de Blasio’s election campaign — and enjoyed two rapid promotions thereafter to become one of Nigro’s top advisers.
Her lack of FDNY operational experience has raised eyebrows in firehouses — although former Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta, appointed in 2002, commanded the agency for eight years despite a prior career spent entirely in civilian, white-collar jobs.
Kavanagh has helped shape FDNY efforts to diversify recruitment after a bruising, decades-long legal fight with the Vulcan Society, the association of black firefighters, to overhaul department hiring practices.
In recent years, the FDNY has increased the number of women on staff to 87 — an all-time record, but still less than 1% of the 10,000 strong force.
In response to the global #MeToo movement — sparked in part by widespread allegations of abuse and sexual assault from Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein — Kavanagh organized a brown bag lunch for FDNY women to share their experiences of harassment on the job, including workplace bullying.
She didn’t have to look far for examples of the latter, sources said.
The FDNY on Monday declined to comment on rumors that Leonard might be stepping down.
“The matter has been referred to the Law Department for review,” said spokesman Frank Gribbon.
Attempts to reach Leonard Monday night were unsuccessful.
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