Hundreds of FDNY EMS workers could be laid off as the COVID-19 pandemic continues take a financial toll on New York City.
Oren Barzilay, the head of the FDNY's EMS union, told the New York Daily News that 400 EMS workers are among 22,000 municipal employees who could lose their jobs amid the city's economic crisis. That could mean ambulance response times could increase by between five to seven minutes, he added. o
“If these budget cuts are enacted, people will die needlessly,” Barzilay said. "Yesterday, we were praised as heroes, essential workers saving lives. Today, the city government treats us like zeros. New Yorkers who lived through this deadly pandemic know otherwise.”
The mayor's office said no layoff amounts have been finalized.
“Our EMTs and firefighters save lives every day, and we are working with their unions to find personnel savings to avoid layoffs, but unfortunately all agencies will face layoffs," Bill Neidhardt, a de Blasio spokesman, told the Daily News.
But Andrew Ansbro, president of Uniformed Firefighters Association, said he hadn't heard about any talks concerning firefighter layoffs.
“Everyone is concerned with the financial crisis we are facing," he told the Daily News. "Any layoffs or cuts would be disastrous to this city during normal operations."
