January 27, 2017 by The Rye City Review

RyeCity REVIEW THE

January 27, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 4 | www.ryecityreview.com

Rye Fire Department cited with 20 violations By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer

A two-day gun show at the Westchester County Center was embroiled in further controversy after pictures of pro-Nazi books and Confederate flags surfaced. The Review was also denied access to the weekend event in White Plains. For story, see page 6. File photo

Corcoran named city public safety commissioner By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer Rye City Police Commissioner Michael Corcoran is set to become the city’s first commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, a position which was approved through a citywide referendum last November. According to Rye City Manager Marcus Serrano, Corcoran, who was hired away from the West Orange County Police Department in New Jersey last February, has been selected as his choice for public safety

commissioner; his appointment was expected to be ratified by the Rye City Council at its Jan. 25 meeting, after press time. According to Serrano, Corcoran is paid $165,000 for his position as the police commissioner; he said the new role will bump up Corcoran’s salary to $185,000. “I am excited at what the future holds as we, collectively, transform public safety services in Rye,” Corcoran told the Review in anticipation of the promotion. “As a team, we will create the conditions that will make the city of Rye’s emergency ser-

vices a model for all to follow.” On Election Day, voters approved the creation of Department of Public Safety for the purpose of consolidating oversight of the Police and Fire departments. The position comes with added significance, as there have been multiple issues within the city Fire Department for some time. Of late, the department has been faced with a lack of professional staffing and a shrinking volunteer base. According to John Castelhano, the president of the local firefighters’ union, the city cur-

rently employs 17 paid firefighters and as little as 30 active volunteers, 12 of whom are trained to fight indoor fires, as of press time. Additionally, Councilman Richard Mecca, a Republican and member of the city Fire Advisory Committee, said the Fire Department has been issued 20 citations, as of press time, by the New York Public Employees Safety and Health Bureau, which retains generally all of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, SAFETY continued on page 10

In the midst of petitions to the city administration from the Rye Professional Firefighters Association to address the lack of trained fire personnel, the Rye Fire Department has now been ordered to comply with a state law as a result of failing to fulfill basic municipal requirements. If some of the violations aren’t abated by Jan. 26, after press time, the city is set to begin seeing fines of $200 per day. On Jan. 6, the Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau, PESH, part of the New York state Department of Labor, issued a notice of violation to the city of Rye for failing to comply with 20 standards set by the Public Employee Safety and Health Act of 1980. PESH, which covers all state and local government workplaces, including government authorities, school districts, and paid and volunteer fire departments, provides policy guidance and conducts unannounced mandatory inspections for violations of Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA. The PESH act sets forth policy to establish a safe and healthy working environment for municipal employees. The Review has learned that the city Fire Department is in obstruction of 20 procedural policy and operational standards, 19 of which are dubbed as “serious” violations.

Of the violations, several pertain to the department’s failure to provide annual required training to employees and properly inspected protective equipment, and for not implementing suitable workplace policies regarding procedures for handling emergencies. Additionally, the department failed to make available certain vaccinations to employees with occupational exposure. According to City Manager Marcus Serrano, the city has already begun addressing a number of the violations, which were a result of a random inspection last May. He added that the city has also requested an extension for a handful of the citations, some of which are ordered to be abated by Jan. 26. According to John Castelhano, the president of the local firefighters’ union, the recent violations are a direct result of the lack of staffing within the Fire Department, which it has dealt with as a result of a declining volunteer base. “A lot of this comes down to staffing,” he said. “In addition to that, it also comes down to a need for a fulltime chief.” Castelhano said he hopes that city Police Commissioner Michael Corcoran, who was recently appointed as the commissioner of the new Department of Public Safety with the task of overseeing both the Police and Fire departments, will hone in VIOLATIONS continued on page 9