Committee on Fire and Emergency Management meeting
March 13, 2026, 9:30 AM
The Committee on Fire and Emergency Management held its FY2027 preliminary budget hearing on the Fire Department, including emergency medical services, and the New York City Office of Emergency Management. The committee took testimony and recorded no votes.
What was discussed
- Opening and swearing in for the FDNY and Emergency Management budget hearing Chair Joann Ariola gaveled in the Committee on Fire and Emergency Management's FY2027 preliminary budget hearing on the Fire Department (including EMS) and NYC Emergency Management; committee counsel affirmed the FDNY witnesses.
- Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore's opening testimony for the FDNY FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore delivered opening testimony on the department's FY2027 preliminary budget, apologizing for a hoarse voice as she introduced the department's priorities.
- How is FDNY using alternative EMS response and addressing hospital turnaround times? Council Member Linda Lee asked about EMS innovations and ambulance offload delays; Commissioner Bonsignore and Deputy Commissioner Christoff described growing alternative-response methods, said all EMS communications members are trained for dispatch, and explained hospital turnaround times fluctuate
- How is FDNY implementing the Chief Savings Officer and PEG savings targets? Council Members Linda Lee and Joann Ariola asked about citywide savings; Deputy Commissioner Christoff said he is FDNY's Chief Savings Officer, that the targets are 1.5% this year and 2.5% next year, that recommendations are still being finalized in coordination with leadership, and that the work is
- What is driving the changes in FDNY's budget lines, including the EMS decrease? Chair Ariola questioned the budget breakdown; Deputy Commissioner Christoff said personal services is about 90% of FDNY's budget (PS roughly $2.x billion in FY27), that fire extinguishment/emergency response is $1.844 billion (about 69.7%), that increases reflect PS adjustments aligning the budget
- How much is FDNY budgeting and spending on overtime? Chair Ariola pressed on overtime; Deputy Commissioner Christoff said FY27 budgeted overtime is $472.5 million (about 18% of PS), that FY26 budgeted overtime is $546.9 million, that year-to-date spending through February was about $380 million (roughly 69% of budget), and that EMS overtime is
- What are FDNY's headcount levels, academy classes, and promotions? Council Member Lynn C. Schulman and Chair Ariola asked about staffing; Deputy Commissioner Christoff said authorized uniformed (fire) headcount is 11,294 against 11,092 actual and EMS is 4,499 authorized against 4,174 actual, that FY25 had three firefighter classes graduating 895 total (a full class
- How are EMS response times, the hydrant database, and hydrant-parking enforcement handled? Council Members Lynn C. Schulman and Pierina Ana Sanchez asked about response times, hydrants and engine staffing; Chief Esposito and Joseph Jean-Baptiste said FDNY maps all hydrant locations and inspects each twice a year, that companies maintain their lists, and that the department issued several
- What is the status of the B-HEARD program and Bronx ambulance delays? Council Members Tiffany L. Cabán and Virginia Maloney asked about B-HEARD and Bronx response; Deputy Commissioner Christoff and Commissioner Bonsignore said B-HEARD (a pilot since 2021) continues operating as status quo with the Fire Department still running it, that none of the PS adjustment was
- How old is FDNY's apparatus fleet, and how are maintenance, generators, and vehicle deliveries handled? Chair Ariola and Council Members Vickie Paladino and Virginia Maloney pressed on fleet and backup power; Deputy Commissioner Brooks said FDNY has roughly 500 fire apparatus averaging about six years old (about 43 ladder trucks beyond their useful life), that about 20% are out of service on a given
- Why are firehouse repairs and conditions taking so long to address? Chair Ariola walked through photos of deteriorating firehouse conditions and pressed Deputy Commissioner Brooks on delayed repairs - including environmental sampling, a Squad 288 (Maspeth) reconstruction she said took 25 years, and roughly 30 open Nederman exhaust-system work orders - voicing sharp
- How is FDNY recruiting EMTs, addressing pay, and is capital funding sufficient? Council Members Phil Wong and Virginia Maloney asked about EMT recruitment and capital; Assistant Commissioner Noonan said a recruitment campaign launches in June and acknowledged pay is a factor in recruitment difficulty, Chief Miano said about 35% of FY25 firefighter graduates came from EMS, and
- How available are FDNY units, and how will Local Law 30 reporting work? Chair Ariola asked about unit availability; Chief Esposito said fire units are generally available at least 50% of the time and that availability is hard to summarize for EMS, and Commissioner Bonsignore said FDNY is moving forward on the new reporting required by Local Law 30 of 2026 (Ariola's
- Commissioner Farrell's opening testimony for NYC Emergency Management NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Farrell delivered opening testimony on NYCEM's FY2027 preliminary budget, joined by Chief Financial Officer Blanco.
- How is the CERT program growing, and what emergency-preparedness training does NYCEM run? Chair Ariola asked about the Community Emergency Response Team program and preparedness; Commissioner Farrell said NYCEM held its 50th CERT graduation cycle in December and called it an efficient volunteer-based program, and described emergency-preparedness education through an online learning
- How exposed is NYCEM to federal funding cuts, and what about FIFA World Cup costs? Chair Ariola and Council Member Lynn C. Schulman asked about federal funding and the World Cup; Chief Financial Officer Blanco said NYCEM relies heavily on federal funding and there is always a chance something could change until it is in hand, and discussed the preliminary plan's $230,000 for the
- How does NYCEM forecast hazards and coordinate with utilities after major events? Council Member Lynn C. Schulman asked about preparedness and utility coordination; Commissioner Farrell said NYCEM's forecasting horizon depends on the hazard, that the agency held two 'hot washes' (after-action reviews) following recent events, and that it met with Con Edison and other utilities in
- How many New Yorkers live in hurricane evacuation zones, and how does NYCEM reach them? Chair Ariola asked about evacuation planning and outreach; Commissioner Farrell said about 3 million of the city's 8.5 million residents live in the six hurricane evacuation zones (roughly 500,000 each), that her team is conducting an audit next month, and that New Yorkers can get Notify NYC alerts
- Fire and EMS union leaders Union leaders - Andrew Ansbro (Uniformed Firefighters Association), Jim Brosi (Uniformed Fire Officers Association), Oren Barzilay (FDNY EMS Local 2507) and Vincent Variale (EMS officers union) - testified on staffing, pay parity for EMS, and working conditions in the department.
- B-HEARD, EMS advocates, community members, and the Bronx Borough President B-HEARD Lieutenant Susanne Duque, former EMT Andrew Farina, disability-justice attorney William Juhn (New York Lawyers for the Public Interest), other community members, and Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson testified on mental-health emergency response, EMS investment, and equitable fire and
Agenda
1 item
- T2026-1355 New York City Council Budget and Oversight Hearings on The Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2027, The Preliminary Capital Plan for Fiscal Years 2027-2030 and The Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report 9:30 a.m. Fire/Emergency Medical Service 11:30 a.m. NYC Office of Emergency Management Hearing Held by Committee