Almojera says EMS has failed after decades of undervaluing
Almojera cites a shooting where NYPD transported the wounded man and a South Bronx heart attack patient who died after a two-hour wait. He says EMS is no longer failing but has failed, not because of EMTs and paramedics, but because dedication cannot replace staffing and ambulances.
And then in the most recent incident on the Upper East Side,
with Councilwoman Menon, thank you, publicly demanded answers from the FDNY about the ambulance that did not arrive for the patient.
Think about what that means.
A teenager is injured in Manhattan.
People call 911 repeatedly.
They wait, they call again, and eventually they realize they cannot rely on an ambulance to come to help them.
This is New York City in 2026.
And I want to be absolutely clear about something today.
We have spent years.
My first city council meeting was 22 years ago, saying these same things, listening to the union leaders then.
We spent years warning about the direction the system was heading.
We warned about the staffing shortages, and that is what it is.
There is no magic pill.
I've listened to these chiefs say, we're going to do X, Y, and Z and squeeze more blood from a stone.
There's no more blood.
We warned about the pay disparity between EMS first responders and firefighters.
We warned about the loss of experienced EMTs and paramedics.
We warned about the ambulances being taken off the street.
We warned about the growing response times.
But we must also confront a deeper truth about how we arrived at this crisis.
For decades, the FDNY has maintained a culture that treats EMS as a subordinate branch rather than an equal partner in public safety.
Despite legislation enacted in 2001 recognizing the uniform status of EMS,
New York City has continued to deny EMS the institutional recognition, respect, and resources afforded to the fireside.
Think about that.
The overwhelming majority of the emergencies firefighters respond to are in medical nature, yet the EMTs and paramedics who provide the advanced medical care wearing fire department uniforms
They are treated as less valuable with the very same department.
That is not merely a question of professional respect.
It is a systemic failure with consequences that extend far beyond the workforce.
I am almost done.
Please bear with me.
When you systemically undervalue the people responsible for providing EMS care, you create the conditions for understaffing, attrition, longer response times, and ultimately preventable deaths.
And for years, New York City has allowed this system to continue.
The patients waiting for an ambulance are now paying the price.
And for years, we have described EMS as a system that is failing.
I am here to tell you today that we have passed that point.
EMS is no longer failing.
EMS has failed.
We are in failure.
Not because the EMTs and paramedics have failed, not because the dispatchers have failed, not because the men and women who put on the uniform every day have stopped calling, answering the call.
They continue to show up.
They continue to work.
They continue to do everything they can with the resources they are given, but dedication cannot replace staffing.
Compassion cannot replace an ambulance, and courage cannot turn a two-hour wait into a six-minute response.
The people who work EMS cannot.
keep carrying the consequences of decisions they did not take.