As the massive Hudson Yards development on Manhattan’s Far West Side takes shape, fire union officials say one important building is missing — a firehouse. And they say that omisson puts the new neighborhood at risk. NY1’s Michael Scotto has the exclusive story.
Every day, the far west side of Manhattan inches ever taller as skyscrapers rise in the Hudson Yards.
By 2025, 125,000 people a day are expected to live, work or visit the 28-acre development, which will have 17 million square feet of commercial and residential space, including 4,000 apartments, a hotel, and a public school.
The one thing the Hudson Yards won’t have? A firehouse. A huge mistake, says the head of the firefighters union.
“I believe they’re gambling with people’s lives,” said UFA President Gerard Fitzgerald.
The nearest firehouses are Engine 34 on 38th Street between ninth and tenth avenues; Engine 1 on 31st Street between sixth and seventh avenues; and Engine 26 on 37th Street between seventh and eighth avenues.
They may not seem that far away. But the union says they’re often in the middle of traffic jams partly because Penn Station, Times Square and the Lincoln Tunnel are nearby. And they already are very busy.
“The fire companies that are responding right now are stressed to the max. It’s not just the fires and it’s not just fatalities. The New York City Fire Department, the firefighters, respond to medical emergencies also,” Fitzgerald added.
Last year the FDNY clocked more than 1.7 million calls citywide, a record — 82 percent of them medical emergencies.
Engine 1 on 31st Street was the third-busiest engine company. Engines 26 and 34 ranked 54th and 90th out of 198 companies.
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