Deputy Majority Leader

THE ASSEMBLY STATE OF NEW YORK ALBANY

N. NICK PERRY
Member of Assembly 58th Assembly District

CHAIR Subcommittee on Community Colleges COMMITTEES Banks Codes Labor Insurance Transportation Ways and Means

August 10, 2011 Mayor Michael Bloomberg City Hall New York, NY 10007 Dear Mayor Bloomberg: As mayor of our great city, aptly described by your only African-American predecessor, as a gorgeous mosaic, you have so far been successful in providing leadership that has significantly erased the racial divisions of your immediate predecessor. However, the glaring racial disparities within the FDNY continue to tarnish all the fine work you have attempted to accomplish. As I write New York City is involved in an embarrassing lawsuit, fighting an accusation of bias hiring by the US Justice Department. Also at the same time, the city faces a lawsuit brought by the Vulcan Society, also accusing the FDNY of discriminatory hiring practices. Their lawsuit also drew attention to the hiring by the FDNY of two of the four officers directly involved in the shooting death of Amadou Diallo. Unfortunately compounding the unflattering picture, FDNY Assistant Commissioner Donay Queenan, recently testified in federal court that ranking members who sit on the department's personnel review board have occasionally recommended relatives, friends or neighbors during meetings to review job applicants. Not too long ago in 2009, Judge Nicholas Garaufis stated in a ruling "From 1999 to 2007, the New York City Fire Department used written examinations with discriminatory effects and little relationship to the job of a firefighter. These examinations unfairly excluded hundreds of qualified people of color from the opportunity to serve as New York City firefighters." These examples all serve as serious indicators that something is definitely very wrong with the FDNY hiring system. The current racial composition of the FDNY is outrageously shameful to defend, with Blacks making up just three percent of the FDNY. Your administration has said it is determined to have the most qualified candidates serve as firefighters and to diversify the department as much as possible.

District Office: 903 Utica Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11203 (718) 385-3336

Mayor Bloomberg 8/10/2011 re: FDNY/NYPD Page 2

Mayor Bloomberg, in an effort to demonstrate the desire and strong intent to work towards significantly diversifying the FDNY which is the most racially disproportionate fire department of any big city in America today, I urge your support for Assembly Bill A.4372 which I have introduced in Albany. This bill would provide a local option to the city to drop its citizenship requirement for applicants to both the FDNY and NYPD, and provide access to a pool of legal non-citizens residents who can serve in either department. While I personally support efforts for immigrants to become citizens as soon as they are eligible, I do not think non-citizenship should be a barrier to service in the FDNY or NYPD. If a noncitizen has the right and freedom to wear the uniform of the US, and to fight and die to preserve liberty and democracy in America, then he/she should also have the right to fight a fire in Brooklyn and help win the war on crime in New York City while wearing the uniforms of New York Citys Bravest and Finest. You will make all New York proud if you leave a legacy of having done the right thing on both of these matters. Thank you for your time and your consideration, and I will appreciate your timely response. Sincerely,

N. Nick Perry Member of Assembly