Power struggle in volunteer firefighter ranks

Daily Point

Fighting fire with fire

Political power struggles aren't uncommon for New York State.

But the latest battlefield may seem a bit unusual.

Volunteer firefighters have long said they've seen a reduction in their numbers over the last two-plus decades. Even now, everyone seems to agree that there's a problem, as the number of volunteer firefighters has fallen from 120,000 to about 80,000 in the last 25 years or so.

But the extent and seriousness of that problem — and how to solve it — remain areas of enormous disagreement even among the various associations that include volunteer firefighters as their members. And now, it's spilling over into the internal politics of those organizations — and onto the political stage in Albany, too.

It's even impacting the upcoming elections for the volunteer firefighters' largest association — the Firefighters Association of the State of New York, or FASNY.

Earlier this month, some fire chiefs, commissioners and coordinators held an "emergency" news conference in which they called the situation "a historic collapse in volunteer firefighting staffing [that] has created a public safety crisis." They're seeking "nominal compensation" that, they say, should be up to the individual fire districts to determine and dole out.

Among the groups behind that effort: The Association of Fire Districts of New York, the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs, the New York State Fire Coordinators Association and the Long Island Firefighters Legislative Committee.

Missing from that coalition, however, is FASNY, which has about 40,000 members statewide.

"People need to understand one fundamental thing: There is no public safety crisis in the state of New York, no matter where you are," FASNY secretary John D'Alessandro, who serves as a volunteer firefighter, told The Point. "That's not to say there are not departments around the state, on Long Island and everywhere else that could use more people. But ... there's been the creation of a public hysteria that the volunteer fire service is in collapse. The data does not show that and it's not helping to solve the recruitment and retention problem."

But Ralph Raymond, the Association of Fire Districts' second vice president and a commissioner with the North Massapequa Fire District, said the downward volunteer trend is "alarming."

Beyond arguing over just how concerning the issue is, the fire leaders also disagree on how to address it.

Raymond and his coalition are advocating for legislation in Albany that would give fire districts the option of providing nominal compensation, giving each district the discretion to determine how to divvy out such funds — and how much to give.

"I think it would be irresponsible for me to put guidelines on it," Raymond said. "I think it's irresponsible for an organization to dictate a program and more or less shove it down the throat of a fire district and tell them how to run their program. If you leave it up to the fire district, they'll do what's best for their district."

But D'Alessandro said he's worried that smaller districts could suffer under that proposal, instead recommending that the state establish a fund, with adequate auditing and checks and balances.

"If we provide nominal compensation, it has to be done equally and equitably across the state of New York," D'Alessandro said, noting that some departments wouldn't be able to afford such compensation on their own. "We can't do it in a way that creates the Wild West where bigger departments are going to start gobbling up smaller departments."

The disagreement is leading to a potential fight for FASNY's leadership positions, some of which will be up for election this summer. Until now, sources said, there's been a "gentleman's agreement" that those who held a position in one of the other organizations wouldn't run for a top FASNY role, because it could create conflicts of interest. And usually, there's not even a competition for the seats, as there's typically a line of succession where the first vice president tends to run for president, while the second vice president runs for first vice president, and so on. But for the first time in recent memory, multiple officeholders in the other dissenting groups have requested a nominating petition for a FASNY position. To run, they'd need to garner 25 signatures of FASNY members.

Raymond told The Point that he was among those who requested a petition, but has since decided not to run.

And Raymond said he's still hoping to find common ground with FASNY in the broader effort to spur volunteer firefighter retention and recruitment.

"I still would love them to jump on board with us and help us, and create ways to fund it and policies and procedures to make it better," Raymond said. "I still welcome it."

Meanwhile, the fight is playing out in Albany, where multiple bills attempt to address the volunteer retention issue. Assemb. Michaelle Solages told The Point she has sponsored legislation to allow nominal compensation that's handled by the districts, adding that appropriate audits and guardrails would be in place.

"I'm trying to find a solution," Solages said. "This is getting to a crisis level and we don't need longer wait times or a fire to happen without a response. We've got to fix this. I truly think we can incentivize people to volunteer or donate their time. I think we need to use every tool in our toolbox in order to solve this."

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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Final Point

Hochul joins Republicans in CLCPA assault

No matter what you call it — a U-turn, political recalibration, or a reappraisal based on recent events — elected officials of all stripes can be Olympic-caliber flip-floppers.

Take New York State's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019. The bill passed and was signed into law with strong bipartisan support. But now that the state and nation face an affordability crisis, both Democrats and Republicans are racing to see who can claim credit for trying to save taxpayers money quicker. They only differ on the role the CLCPA plays.

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul last week wrote that the State Legislature must delay the deadlines in the CLCPA and/or modify the emissions standards because of rising energy costs. Republicans, including some who voted for the CLCPA, want the governor to trash the law altogether.

Even if the CLCPA is modified by the legislature, Hochul herself said utility bills won't drop — they just won't go even higher than already projected to rise. A New York State Energy Research and Development Authority memo projects New York City homeowners who use natural gas would pay an extra $2,340 a year without changes to the CLCPA. Electric customers on Long Island paid $9.65 a month in CLCPA-related charges in 2024, according to a Newsday news division story.

That's got homeowners and small businesses screaming "affordability" from their rooftops as politicians scramble to find solutions. Both Republican and Democratic state lawmakers have competing ideas to give rebate checks to ratepayers.

Environmentalists, sidelined on the affordability angle of the debate, remain committed to the law's intent, which is, well, protecting the environment.

Not all Democrats are ready to make a U-turn, though. Earlier this month, 29 Democratic state senators signed a letter urging Hochul not to backpedal on CLCPA. Notably, Long Island's two Democratic state senators — Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood) and Siela Bynoe (D-Westbury) — didn't sign the letter.

Back in 2019, before affordability was in vogue and everyone wanted to protect the environment, an awful lot of Democrats and even some Republicans voted for the CLCPA. Those Republicans include Assembly members Ed Ra (R-Garden City) and Joe DeStefano (R-Medford). DeStefano and Ra have since denounced the CLCPA as unaffordable and unrealistic. Assembly members Doug Smith (R-Holbrook) and Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), who is now in the House of Representatives, voted against the CLCPA.

In a recent news release with other state Republicans, DeStefano said he favors a "reassessment of the state's approach to ensure energy remains dependable and reasonably priced."

In a 2024 interview, DeStefano told Newsday's editorial board, "I really do believe in renewable energy."

For Republicans and many Democrats, the problem now, it seems, is cost. But environmentalists say going green will ultimately result in cheaper energy. Hochul says the about-face isn't because the CLCPA is raising costs, it's because supply chain issues, the federal government's war on renewables, and the Iran war have already driven energy costs into the stratosphere.

Some Democrats have apparently told insiders they support moving the CLCPA's deadlines back but not lowering the emissions standards, while others have said they support changing the emissions standards while keeping the current deadlines intact. Sounds like closed-door maneuvering is happening.

What matters more in November — clean energy or affordability? Do Albany electeds have the guts to stick through the affordability crisis to implement the CLCPA as intended, or will they push the climate can down the road to keep utility rates from exploding?

Hey, it wouldn't be spring in Albany without backroom budget dealing. That angers everyone.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

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