RyeCity REVIEW THE
December 9, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 50 | www.ryecityreview.com
City Fire Department still ‘staffed for failure’
POINT BREAK
By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer
Residents from Water’s Edge, a condominium development bordering Rye Town Park, have requested that the city foot the bill for a crumbling seawall, originally damaged during Hurricane Sandy, pictured, in 2012. For story, see page 9. Photo/Andrew Dapolite
Council to delay Crown Castle decision until January A decision on the controversial proposal from telecom contractor Crown Castle to install wireless infrastructure across the city of Rye will be delayed, as city officials continue to pore over alternatives to a plan residents have criticized at every turn. According to Rye City Attorney Kristen Wilson, a final determination on the project’s environmental impact—otherwise known as a State Environmental Quality Review, SEQR, process—in addition to a decision on whether or not the city will authorize the project will be extended until the second week in January.
Previously, a deadline was projected for this month. Additionally, Wilson told the Review in advance of the Dec. 7 City Council meeting, which took place after press time, that she will recommend that the council classify the action as “unlisted” under SEQR. This classification, Wilson said, will make the potential for the requirement of an environmental impact statement far more likely. The determination, she added, would likely fly in the face of Crown Castle’s desire to have the project listed as Type II, a less stringent classification. Currently, Crown Castle, who
is being contracted by Verizon Wireless, is seeking to install various types of wireless infrastructure across the city in order to bolster cell service for Verizon customers. In the plan as it currently stands, the company would install more than 60 nodes—wireless signal emitters—upon telephone poles and streetlights, many of which are adjacent to residential homes. Residents have rallied against the proposal, citing concerns over the plan’s potentially adverse effect on property values and initial concerns over health effects regarding the nodes’
emission of radio frequencies. Last month, a group of residents who hired their own consultant to analyze Crown Castle’s proposal also submitted an alternative plan to the city that would decrease the number of infrastructure locations to 10, and would also see them installed primarily on government property to avoid impacts on residents’ property values. Wilson has continuously expressed that the negotiations could potentially devolve into litigation given the existence of a previous contract signed between the city and Crown Castle. -Reporting by James Pero
Despite petitions from the Rye Professional Firefighters Association to address the lack of a sufficient number of trained fire personnel, it is currently unclear whether the city Fire Department will receive additional funding from the City Council for 2017. According to John Castelhano, the president of the local firefighters’ union, despite the Fire Department’s historical label of being “staffed for failure,” it’s likely that the department will continue being “dangerously understaffed” in the next calendar year, as the city’s 2017 tentative budget does not earmark any additional funds for hiring new employees. The final city budget is expected to be adopted on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Additionally, City Manager Marcus Serrano said there is no plan to take action on the issue until the forthcoming public safety commissioner is included in the discussion. “I will be reviewing the level of staffing with the new public safety commissioner in the near future,” he said. On Election Day, in a citywide referendum residents voted in favor of creating a public safety commissioner position and a Department of Public Safety for the purpose of consolidating oversight of the police and fire departments. It is expected that Police Commissioner Michael Corcoran, who was hired earlier
this year, will be tapped as the new public safety commissioner, although Serrano said the position is not likely to be named officially until next year. “Once that happens, we’re going to make sure the department gets what it needs,” said Councilwoman Danielle Tagger-Epstein, a Democrat. “We will continue to support the firefighters.” In May, the city Fire Advisory Committee recommended the addition of four paid positions to the department’s roster. However, since then, talks of adding staffing have dwindled. Castelhano told the Review that adding professional firefighters to the department would address a need that it has struggled with over the past two years. He added, with just 17 paid firefighters employed by the city and as little as 30 active volunteers, 12 of whom are trained to fight indoor fires, the department is currently wrestling to keep up with the industry standard of 15 trained firefighters responding to an emergency. According to Castelhano, the Fire Department is seeking to fill just three paid professional positions to meet those standards and account for a federal law it often violates, which is dubbed the “two-in, two-out” rule. The regulation mandates that if two professional firefighters enter a burning building, there must be two
INSIDE Chris Herren talks drug addiction Story on page 13.
FIRE continued on page 8