by Jill Colvin
MANHATTAN - Twenty fire companies will live to fight at least another day thanks to a temporary reprieve by the mayor, the Daily News reported.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration has proposed closing the companies as part of its across-the-board cost-saving cuts to city agencies, including the police and fire departments.
The city had been expected to send out notices to a list of companies Monday, 45 days before the city's new budget begins on July 1. It is required to give communities 45 days notice prior to closing a company or firehouse, a Mayor's Office spokesman said.
However, Bloomberg said he's postponing the move, at least temporarily, until he finds out how much money Albany will provide the city in its overdue budget.
"I'm going to wait and see," Bloomberg told reporters at an event Monday. "We don't have a budget yet, and until then, there's no reason to do anything."
The delay will also give him more time to gauge incoming tax revenue, the mayor said.
But the FDNY is still continuing its preparations for closing down the fire companies.
“We are still preparing a list of 20 fire companies to close to meet our budget,” FDNY spokesperson Steve Ritea said.
The cuts have been extremely unpopular among firefighters and many politicians in the city.
In an op-ed in the New York Post, Steve Cassidy, the president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, warned that the cuts would jeopardize New Yorkers' safety, especially in the wake of the recent attempted attack in Times Square.
"The facts are clear: Closing fire companies or reducing manpower threatens the safety of civilians and firefighters alike," he wrote.
"Mayor Bloomberg has already closed seven fire companies. If he succeeds in closing more, the safety of all who live, work and vacation in New York will be seriously compromised," he said.
Closing the fire companies would save the city an estimated $5.6 million, according to the Daily News. The city's looming budget gap stands at $1.5 billion.
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