FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com FEBRUARY 19, 2015 • THE COURIER SUN 21 SNAPS QUEENS “I guess so. I’m curious to see if it’s anything like the book, which I only liked the fi rst half of.” Rachel Smith Junior, a golden retriever pup from Fresh Meadows, enjoys some fun in the snow Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them BY ROSS BELSKY “No. I don’t have time anyway, but I’m really not into that genre.” Michael Martucci “No. It’s not my thing, it’s just too cheesy. Plus the actors in the movie are random.” Corinne Labial “Only if a girl wants to see it with me. I might want to see the unrated DVD.” Ricky Caam “No. I could not even get through the fi rst book. The writing was poor and not entertaining.” Nicole Koumas “Absolutely. I didn’t get the chance to read the book and all of my friends did. I want to see what the obsession is about.” Joanna Germanis oped street talk “No. It is simply not enough of a catch for me to take time from my schedule to see it.” Daphne Dee “No. I don’t know enough about the book. I feel like it only sold well because it’s raunchy.” Jordan Sopp online or in our paper! Submit them to us via our Facebook page, tweeting @queenscourier or by emailing editorial@ queenscourier.com. Are you going to see ‘Fifty Shades of Grey?’ Risking it all for $27/day BY STEVE CASSIDY When the FDNY began its efforts to recruit New York City fi refi ghter candidates back in 2011, it sold them on the merits of “the best job in the world has the best benefi ts in the world.” Now, several years later, it appears that the city failed to tell these prospective fi rst responders the truth. Since 2013, the city has hired more than 1,400 new FDNY fi refi ghters, most of whom don’t have disability benefi ts. What the city recruitment posters should have read in 2011 was, “Don’t get hurt in the line of duty or else you and your family will be in trouble!” Here’s why: If any probationary (rookie) fi refi ghters hired by the FDNY since January 2013 are seriously injured, paralyzed or permanently disabled on the job, the approximate value of their disability protection amounts to only about $27/day. This all began when Governor David Paterson vetoed the New York City fi refi ghter and police Tier II extender bill in June 2009, forcing all future FDNY and NYPD hires into Tier III, which has no real disability benefi ts. Today virtually every fi refi ghter and police offi cer in New York State has real disability benefi ts, except for those in the FDNY and NYPD. It is wholly unacceptable for newly hired city fi refi ghters to face the same dangers as fellow veteran fi refi ghters but only be protected to the sum of $27/day, or less than $190 per week, if they’re seriously injured. It’s already a highly dangerous profession and fi refi ghters need to be 100 percent focused on their responsibilities in a fi re/emergency situation and not distracted with “what if” concerns about who is going to take care of their family if they’re seriously injured. Having this lingering concern — especially among fi refi ghters who are married or have children to provide for — clearly jeopardizes public safety, and simply doesn’t serve taxpayers’ interests. How can the city demand new hires enter a burning building, or conduct a dangerous rescue or take other risks, while denying them the same disability protections? I believe most New Yorkers will stand united with New York City’s fi refi ghters to declare that it is immoral for the city to ask the young men and women of the FDNY to risk their life and health without a safety net. What’s more, the public is best served when every fi refi ghter is solely focused on their job, because they know that if they are seriously injured in the line of duty, they will be taken care of. The Uniformed Firefi ghters Association is advocating and fi ghting for necessary corrective legislation that requires the support of a majority of the New York City Council and passage of legislation via the state Assembly and Senate and signed into law by the governor. What legislation would do is guarantee that each of our city’s fi refi ghters and police offi cers who risk their lives would have similar disability protections that more senior New York City fi refi ghters and other fi rst responders across the state are granted. New Yorkers should want and expect a fi re department with members who will never have to think twice about if their family would be cared for if they were permanently disabled. New Yorkers should join with fi refi ghters and call upon city and state legislators to take action and correct this serious problem. Steve Cassidy is president of the Uniformed Firefi ghters Association. Photo by The Queens Courier staff
SC02192014
To see the actual publication please follow the link above