Letter: FDNY discrimination must be remedied
A New York firefighter pauses at the firefighters memorial wall that displays the names of victims of Sept. 11 at Ground Zero on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York. (Sept. 11, 2011) Credit: AP
Your letter writer thinks that the New York City Fire Department discrimination suit is without merit ["FDNY discrimination case taken too far," Oct. 14]. She is naive. This has nothing to do with dumbing down a test. It's about being fair, and I speak from experience.
In the early 1980s, I took the FDNY test. On the civil service list, I was V892 (V means veteran), on a list of over 25,000.
After a month of calling, I was told they had passed me over. I was furious. I called to find out why and got nowhere. Then I contacted a labor lawyer, who basically said that the city can do whatever it pleases. Meaning, if your daddy, uncle, brother or any other friend is a fireman, they will pass over everyone until they get you.
That is why you have generation after generation of family members in the FDNY. And if you're black, your only recourse is through the courts. Jim Crow lives in the FDNY.
My great-grandfather George Washington Derby was a New York City fireman from the 1890s to the 1920s. He probably knew someone to get the job.
Edward H. Derby, Ridge
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