By Tuan Nguyen and Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Staff
CITY HALL— Thousands of protesters, including hundreds of firefighters, rallied at City Hall Friday to blast the city's plan to close 20 fire companies, including three in Manhattan.
The demonstrators say closing the fire houses will put New Yorkers' lives at risk.
"This is a disgrace to the people who have sacrificed so much for the city," said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.
Three Manhattan fire companies are slated to close under the mayor's executive budget plan: Engine 4 at 42 South St. in the Financial District, Ladder 8 at 14 North Moore St. in TriBeCa and Engine 26 at 220 W. 37th St. The Garment District house is nicknamed the "Ghostbusters fire house" thanks to its starring roll in the 1984 film.
The protest began with hundreds of firefighters, state senators, city council members and other community leaders marching across the Brooklyn Bridge beginning around 11 a.m.
The marchers were joined in Manhattan by thousands of others rallying outside of City Hall, where they crowded Broadway all the way from Chambers to Barclay streets.
They chanted "save more firehouses" and waved signs denouncing Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
"The firehouses are our insurance policy to keep our community safe. Response time will go up and people will die," Councilwoman Margaret Chin said.
Fire Commissioner Sal Cassano has testified the closures would "negatively affect response times to fires and life-threatening medical emergencies" in every community in the city.
City Hall aides downplayed the threats, recalling that the same doomsday warnings were made back in 2003, when six firehouses were closed.
"Since those six companies were closed (and) we’ve hit all-time record lows in fire deaths," spokesman Marc LaVorgna said.
Uniformed Fire Officers Association’s Capt. John Dunne said the department shouldn't be punished for its success.
"We’re doing better jobs. That doesn’t mean that you cut the resources if fire deaths are down. That doesn’t make any sense," he said.
Opponents say emergency calls have risen 16 percent since 2001, and that the department has 900 fewer firefighters than before 9/11.
The city estimates the closures will save $55 million.
City Council Finance Chair Domenic Recchia Jr. said the council will do everything it can to prevent the cuts before the final budget is passed at the end of the month.
"Even in tough fiscal times, we cannot compromise public safety," he said in a statement. “Any decision that could increase response times is a mistake."
