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New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, defended the firing of a 36-year-old FDNY firefighter who died of a heart attack last month, leaving his family in a difficult financial position.
“Derek Floyd, 36, suffered cardiac arrest and passed away April 15, four months after the city gave him the boot as part of a larger effort to pare staff and pay for housing and services for the tens of thousands of migrants flooding the Big Apple,” the New York Post previously reported.
Adams said keeping Floyd, who had been on “long-term duty” after a prior heart attack while enrolled at the Fire Academy, would have meant misspending taxpayer dollars.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams defended firing a firefighter whose death months later left his family in a financial mess – saying keeping him would have meant misspending “taxpayers’ dollars.”
— Craig McCarthy (@createcraig) May 1, 2024
“Floyd had been just shy of vesting additional medical benefits for his family and more than $600,000 worth of death benefits when he was booted, leaving his family with nothing despite his years of service,” the New York Post previously said.
“It’s really a tragic situation,” Adams told reporters.
NYC lawmakers called on Adams and FDNY officials to remedy the situation for Floyd’s family.
“What a heartbreaking story. Why was a man who served our country and our city treated so poorly? This is unacceptable. His family deserves so much better. The FDNY needed to do more to find a position that could accommodate him medically. The city must do better,” Bob Holden (D-Queens) said.
What a heartbreaking story. Why was a man who served our country and our city treated so poorly? This is unacceptable. His family deserves so much better. The FDNY needed to do more to find a position that could accommodate him medically.
The city must do better. https://t.co/JEKDfXuUgs
— Robert Holden (@BobHoldenNYC) April 29, 2024
The New York Post reports:
“He never qualified to be a firefighter because he didn’t get through the academy because of his heart condition,” Adams said, as he denied the firing was tied to City Hall’s plan to slash the FDNY budget by $74 million by the end of 2025.
“We can’t just say, ‘OK, you were brought on to be a firefighter, you don’t qualify, we’re going to hold you on the payroll anyway.’ We can’t do that,” Adams said. “That is not how you use taxpayers’ dollars.”
At the time of his layoff, Floyd had been working in the chaplain’s office helping to arrange funerals for fallen FDNY members. He was trying to receive medical clearance to re-enter the firefighting force before he was fired.
The mayor said the city will assist “within our legal restrictions,” but also referred to the tragic situation as “just life.”
“You can determine something on Monday and something can happen on Tuesday. That’s just life,” Adams said. “His medical condition did not allow him to become a firefighter.
“It’s so unfortunate because he appears to have been a great young man who would have been great to the FDNY. But that’s the reality we were facing, and we’re going to be here for the family as much as possible.”
City officials reportedly said the fire department let go of workers on “long-term duty” who couldn’t return to work in more than a year and a half to meet budget cuts.
In wake of New York City being flooded with migrants, Adams denied budget cuts were the result of allocating resources for migrants.
“We have not done any layoffs. We have not increased our taxes in spite of what we are going through,” Adams said, according to the New York Post.
WATCH:
JUST IN – New York City Mayor Eric Adams is defending the decision to fire firefighter Derek Floyd, who recently passed away, leaving his family with NOTHING.
Floyd was terminated to increase funding for illegals in New York City.
Adams justified the decision, stating it… pic.twitter.com/roRtBZF8c6
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) May 3, 2024
Despite calls for the city to reinstate Floyd’s pension, Adams said the city has no plans to do so.
Cont. from the New York Post:
Several politicians have called on officials to step in to help Floyd’s family because he was a few months short of vesting his city pension. But FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said that “action” could only come from a new law.
“The ball is in their court,” Kavanagh told The Post Tuesday morning at an FDNY promotion ceremony. “In order to change the status of his pension eligibility we would need the action of city, state, or federal legislation.”
Kavanagh said FDNY helped pay for Floyd’s funeral, and she is encouraging FDNY-associated foundations to also help Floyd’s family financially. And, Kavanagh said the firefighting force is looking at other options to help out Floyd’s family.
“We’ve started a scholarship for his kids and for the family. We’re also looking at legal and legislative options to give his wife some options. It’s really a tragic, sad event,” Kavanagh said.