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26 Firehouses Close, Sanitation Not Picking Up Garbage, Massive Protests – Opinion

By Pluralist / October 30, 2021

New York City has been rocked by massive chaos since Friday’s vaccine mandates. This deadline was set for all city workers to get vaccinated. This mandate will be in force on Monday.

Anti-vaccine mandate protesters have been very active in New York City as we have reported even coming out to protest the Nets banning Kyrie Irving from playing basketball for them until he gets vaccinated.

There were massive protests this week of city employees including police, fire, and emergency services on Thursday as thousands came out in front of Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s residence, to protest Mayor Bill de Blasio’s vaccine mandate. It is not possible to receive regular tests, but everyone must have the jab. Numerous people chanted in support of de Blasio. There were also chants of “Let’s go, Brandon.” People carried signs demanding recognition of natural immunity.

Now, the consequences of de Blasio’s foolhardy action are hitting. The mandate has caused 26 firehouses to close, placing lives in danger and putting the safety of the entire city at risk.

NY Post

No borough or neighborhood — posh or not — were spared, with shuttered companies running the gamut from Engine 55 in Lower Manhattan, to Engine 234 in Crown Heights, to Engine 231 in Brownsville. According to Malliotakis’s information and Joe Borelli, who also cited the Uniformed Firefighters Association, there was Ladder 128 on Long Island City as well as Engine 158 in Crown Heights and Ladder 778 in Richmond.

FDNY Spokesman Jim Long insisted the closings are not permanent, describing the companies as “temporarily out of service” and the situation “fluid” since it was shifting firefighters to units where they were needed.

Vinny, a 63-year-old retired electrician who lives next to Engine 284 at Dyker Heights in Brooklyn, found little comfort from this.

“We’re f–ked. We are going to toast like marshmallows,” Agro told The Post. “It’s another sad day for New York City.”

New Yorkers have a knack for finding a creative way to phrase this absurd situation.

One resident shared his reasons for the danger in his area.

“Most of the houses here are semi attached frame houses. You throw a match on it and it goes up real quick,” he said. “You need a quick response…it’s scary.”

It was an amazing number of companies that the city threatened to shut down, with 20 percent being among them. 26 properties represent approximately 7.6 per cent of the 341 city companies.

42,000 firefighters are among the 426,000 workers in cities that aren’t vaccinated.

If city employees don’t get at least one jab of the vaccine by Monday, they will be suspended without pay.

Police calls to Crown Heights in Brooklyn took more than 2 hours due to some calls being made by sick officers. Numerous firefighters took medical leave.

“People that aren’t retiring or quitting right out are gonna be on unpaid leave like myself. There’s not going to be enough bodies,” said the 23-year-old EMT who did not want to give his name. “You know New York City, the call volume is high and the manpower in general is bad, without all this going on. More people are needed constantly. It’s going to be a little crazy.”

Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro called the excessive sick leave “unacceptable.”

A memo sent Friday to the members of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association said it was “still in negotiations” with the Office of Labor Relations “for an extension to the deadline as well as alternate methods of implementation to maintain the safety of the public and choice for our membership.”

Meanwhile, garbage is piling up all around the city because there’s a sanitation slowdown over the mandates.

Rev. Kevin McCall, who was very vocal in opposition to the mandate in the City, summarized the situation by saying that it would stink Monday.

Some left garbage for de Blasio to send a message as to what’s happening across the city with trash piling up.

Now we’re seeing and hearing “Let’s go, Brandon” in protest of this all around the country, even from a Southwest pilot.  Also, Southwest has been following a mandate.

But garbage piling high is a message that it’s hard to ignore, when you see it and it’s smelling all around you. Hopefully, de Blasio realizes that he’s putting the citizens in great danger with his actions but it’s not looking positive.

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Pluralist

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