Ariola delivers impassioned closing on firehouse deterioration
Ariola delivers closing remarks criticizing the administration for allowing firehouses to deteriorate, noting 100-year-old buildings haven't had investment unless council members provided it, and calling conditions unacceptable. She states the committee will check on all presented facilities and raise the issue at the OMB hearing.
On that note, we'll be checking on each of the slides that we saw to make sure that the work is being done.
But I think anybody with eyes can see that the work being done
is just a band-aid.
It's just a band-aid and the facilities are falling apart and our firefighters and our EMS workers are working in substandard conditions.
They are living there.
The better part of their days and nights are spent at the EMS stations and at the fire stations and they are living in worse conditions than we would allow
anyone to live in.
And as I said earlier, if you as the fire department were called to inspect those buildings or the DOB went down to inspect those buildings, they would be closed.
So shame on this administration.
Commissioner, I know that you are new and you are doing everything you can to try and remedy this, but shame on anyone who's been here for a long time and has let this go by year after year after year without fixing
the locations where your firefighters, you as firefighters, have let it go this far, that 100-year-old buildings have not had a nickel put into it unless a council member provided it.
And then even then, money is held up with OMB.
It's totally unacceptable and we will bring that up at the OMB hearing.
If no one, if you have anything to add, Council Chair Lee?