I think we can all agree that the heckling aimed at Attorney General Tish James last week at FDNY’s promotion ceremony was juvenile, maybe distasteful even.
We should also be clear about one thing: The behavior exhibited was no different than from past events.
It was just last year that the fire commissioner was booed at the podium at the same promotion, in the same building.
But for the department to launch an investigation and call for members to “turn themselves in” is a disingenuous attempt to save political face.
This should not turn into a witch hunt.
The FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association is willing to sit down with the administration and have a discussion about how we handle these types of ceremonies in the future.
For the record, the FDNY promotion ceremony has always been a jovial event, with members blowing off steam and celebrating the accomplishments of fellow members, giving them a proper send-off as they take their career and the reputation of the firehouse somewhere new.
It has, at many times, felt like a carnival-like atmosphere.
A man in a horse-head costume ran across the stage once. Members bring “fat head” posters of their comrades.
Often someone blasts a siren or an air horn to break the awkward silences.
Much of the crowd also includes off-duty members, retired members, civilians and members’ families.
Some members this year felt that James’ attendance politicized the event and then let their feelings be heard with jeers.
It was in poor taste.
But my question is this: Where was the top brass when the chants rained down?
They were right there in attendance, best seats in the house, and they didn’t flinch an inch.
They could’ve stood up and settled the crowd down at any point with a quick, “Lock it up.”
If any regulations were broken, it was by the leaders for a charge we call “failure to supervise.”
When did the command staff realize that something was wrong?
The late-hour memo threatening a Bureau of Investigations and Trials investigation and an “education” at HQ came days after the event.
What happened in the interim?
The FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association union represents more than 20,000 members who work hard to keep our communities and our citizens safe.
There are Republicans, and there are Democrats.
We work side by side every day, and we reach out a hand when someone falls, regardless of their political beliefs.
I apologize to AG James for this unfortunate event, and I hope my apology will be accepted.
But we’re going to vigorously defend our members because in the end, what they did wasn’t new and if it was wrong, the people that should have stopped them failed to do so.
If the department wants to have a re-education class on how to behave in public, please reserve the best seats in the house for the chiefs, but disciplinary action is off the table.
Andrew Ansbro is president of FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association.