NYPD to get new recruiting class, FDNY a fifth firefighter at 20 engine companies
NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams is restoring some of the cuts to the NYPD and FDNY that he ordered just a few months ago.
In the overall scheme of things, the cuts the mayor is restoring are small, but they could go a long way in getting him back in the good graces of voters fed up with the asylum seeker crisis, which is diverting funds from city services.
Ironically, cutting migrant benefits is the thing that is allowing the mayor to make the restorations.
"I can't get any clearer. At the heart of what's important to me is that the city is safe," Adams said.
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And with that, the mayor did something he thought was unthinkable less than two months ago, with the city swimming in a sea of red ink caused by the asylum seeker crisis. He restored some of the cuts to the police and fire departments made necessary by the $7 billion cost of caring form the nearly 170,000 migrants that have so far come to New York City.
The mayor is restoring one of the five Police Academy classes that were on the chopping block. That means 600 cops with be hired in April
He is also restoring the fifth man to 20 fire engine companies throughout the five boroughs.
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Ironically, it was finding ways to cut back on the services provided to asylum seekers by 20% that allowed the city to restore the critically needed services.
"They looked at what we were paying and said how do we go in and do cost savings, cost efficiencies? And everywhere ... everywhere, from food to the cost of housing to laundry to security, everything is on the table," Adams said.
However, the police union, well aware that only one of the five polices classes was restored, insisted the NYPD still has a staffing crisis, since the head count is still 2,700 below what it should be
"Nearly 3,000 more cops quit or retired last year. Those who remain are stretched beyond their breaking point -- 911 response times are still rising, and the City Council keeps piling on new burdens," said Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry.
Hendry insisted the city "must focus on retaining the cops it already has by improving their quality of life and providing incentives to keep them on the job."
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The FDNY, which has had to cope with an increase in fast-moving lithium-ion battery fires, said restoring the fifth man to trucks is a key public safety move
"The fifth firefighter, in its most simple terms, gets water on a fire faster. That's particularly important in this moment when we're taking about these lithium-ion batteries, where they are unusually fast," FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanaugh said.
The mayor is not out of the woods yet. He will unveil his budget for the next fiscal year on Tuesday. Without significant aid from the state and federal government, there cold be more painful cuts.