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NY Daily News – July 16, 2015 by Erin Durkin A top open government expert said Wednesday the firefighters union is right that the City Council is keeping too many secrets. The Uniformed Firefighters Association sued Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito this week, charging she and the Council illegally withheld information about a debate over hiking […]

NY Daily News – July 15, 2015 by Tom Tracy, Greg B. Smith A vacant four-story Brooklyn tenement suddenly collapsed in a pile of rubble Tuesday afternoon, injuring three passersby, police officials said. The upper floors of the building at 1438 Fulton St. near Brooklyn Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant crumbled and fell about 2:30 p.m., the […]

NY Daily News – July 15, 2015 by Erin Durkin The head of the firefighters union slapped City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito with a lawsuit Tuesday — charging her claims to promote open government are a “farce.” Steve Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, charged the Council broke the Freedom of Information Law in […]

NY 1 – July 15, 2015 The city’s firefighters union is suing City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito over a controversial vote regarding disability pensions. The Uniformed Firefighters Association wants newly-hired members to receive the same disability benefits as those hired before changes were made to the pension system in 2009. The de Blasio administration also […]

NY Daily News – July 14, 2015 by Anthony Izaguirre The FDNY celebrated its 150th anniversary Monday with the unveiling of a plaque in Midtown commemorating the “heroism of New York’s Bravest.” About 100 people — half of them uniformed smoke-eaters — were on hand for the ceremony at the Emigrant Savings Bank at 6 […]

NY Daily News – July 14, 2015 by Erin Durkin The firefighters’ union plans to sue City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito over the Council’s role in thwarting a more generous disability pension package for uniformed workers, the group said. Uniformed Firefighters Association president Steve Cassidy and newly hired firefighters will hit the Council with a […]

Newsday – July 14, 2015 by EMILY NGO The union representing New York City firefighters plans to file a lawsuit Tuesday morning against the speaker of the City Council, alleging an “agenda shrouded in secrecy” when it comes to FDNY disability pension benefits. The court papers will charge Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s office stonewalled efforts to […]

City and State TV – July 14, 2015 by Gerson Borrero In an exclusive interview with City & State TV, Stephen Cassidy, head of the New York City Uniformed Firefighters Association talks about the lawsuit that has been filed against City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito alleging a lack of transparency and lack of open government […]

The Journal News – July 13, 2015 A House committee hearing just weeks ago had to relocate to a bigger meeting room when dozens of New York City firefighters showed up, determined to win reauthorization of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Many first responders offered emotional testimony. The Zadroga Act offers health […]

Greenpoint Gazette – July 10, 2015 Almost a year after his passing, braving a blaze on a 19th floor apartment in the Taylor-Wythe Housing Complex, a large crowd of firefighters, families, friends and the Williamsburg Community, assembled at an FDNY ceremony for the unveiling of a plaque in memory of Lieutenant Mat Ambelas at the […]