Committee on Fire and Emergency Management meeting
June 1, 2026, 2:00 PM
Jointly with the Committee on Finance
The Committee on Fire and Emergency Management, jointly with the Committee on Finance, held an FY2027 executive budget hearing on the New York Fire Department on June 1. The session is part of the Council's review of proposed agency spending before adoption of the fiscal year 2027 budget.
What was discussed
- Swearing in the FDNY panel Committee Counsel administered the oath to Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore, First Deputy Commissioner Daniel Flynn, Chief of Department John Esposito, EMS Chief Paul Miano, Deputy Commissioner Lizette Christoff, and the rest of the FDNY witnesses before the afternoon session.
- Commissioner Bonsignore's testimony on the FDNY FY2027 executive budget Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore opened by recognizing this year's Medal Day honorees for life-saving rescues, then turned to the roughly $2.7 billion FY2027 expense budget, framing how the department's funding translates into fire, EMS, and prevention services.
- How is the B-HEARD mental-health program staffed after nearly being disbanded? Chair Linda Lee asked about B-HEARD after the program was almost disbanded. Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore and EMS Chief Paul Miano said 62 FDNY EMS members are now assigned to B-HEARD with no service gaps, and Deputy Commissioner Lizette Christoff put the FDNY's share of the cost at about $4
- When will EMS workers get pay parity with firefighters? Chair Linda Lee, Council Member Phil Wong, and others pushed on EMS pay parity. Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said she supports parity and wants it resolved 'sooner rather than later' but that the figure is being negotiated among OLR, OMB, and the unions and she does not have a seat at that table
- Does EMS revenue cover its costs, and how much is unbillable? Chair Joann Ariola drilled into EMS revenue and ambulance billing. Deputy Commissioner Lizette Christoff said the FY27 EMS revenue target is $343.7 million against an all-in operating cost above $900 million — historically about a third — that roughly 18 percent of transports are self-paid by
- How is the FDNY improving firefighter and EMS recruitment and retention? Council Member Nantasha M. Williams asked about recruitment strategy, gender-related facility needs, and racial-equity analysis of response times. Associate Commissioner Nafeesah Noonan cited a Deloitte after-action study of the recent hiring campaign, Chief of Department John Esposito described
- What is the FDNY doing about lithium-ion battery fires and blocked hydrants? Council Members Gale A. Brewer and Phil Wong raised blocked hydrants and the surge in lithium-ion battery fires. Chief of Department John Esposito and Chief of Fire Prevention Thomas Currao described a comprehensive prevention approach tied to Local Law 40 and UL charging standards, and Commissioner
- Are ambulance response times holding up as stations sit far apart? Council Member Gale A. Brewer asked about ambulance response times and station locations. Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said that with the city's roughly 40 EMS stations, ambulances are dispatched from wherever they are already operating rather than from a home station, so station distance has
- How do NYCHA elevator outages delay emergency response? Council Member Chris Banks asked about response barriers in NYCHA, especially elevator outages. Chief of Department John Esposito described a pilot that notifies the NYCHA elevator team when the FDNY responds to a stuck-elevator call, and said the department reports out-of-service elevators to
- Does putting a fifth firefighter on engines improve outcomes? Chair Joann Ariola, Council Member Lincoln Restler, and Council Member Justin E. Sanchez pressed hard on fifth-firefighter staffing. Chief of Department John Esposito said 20 engine companies citywide already carry a fifth firefighter and that it speeds hose-line stretches and extinguishment, but
- Why are 30 percent of ambulances out of service? Council Member Phil Wong asked about ambulances out of service. Deputy Commissioner Lizette Christoff and EMS Chief Paul Miano said about 600 ambulances make up the fleet with roughly 30 percent out of service at a given time, and that the maximum in the field across the day's two tours is 340, with
- How does the EMS-to-firefighter promotion pathway drive attrition? Council Members Virginia Maloney and Lincoln Restler questioned the EMS-to-firefighter promotion pipeline. Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said about 25 percent of the EMS workforce shifts into fire during a promotion cycle and cannot return to ambulances, Deputy Commissioner Lizette Christoff put
- Do bike lanes interfere with FDNY operations? Council Member Lincoln Restler asked whether bike lanes hinder fire response. Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said the FDNY 'has no problem with bike lanes' because they save lives, and that where maneuvering around them is an issue the department is working directly with DOT to resolve it.
- Are taller new buildings harder to fight fires in? Chief of Department John Esposito said modern building materials allow much taller structures with smaller footprints, which can take longer to reach and fight, and First Deputy Commissioner Daniel Flynn noted that electrical fires remain the leading cause of fire as the city's building stock ages.
- Is the FDNY's facilities capital backlog being funded? Chair Joann Ariola and Council Member Crystal Hudson pressed on the firehouse repair backlog. Deputy Commissioner Lizette Christoff said the capital plan holds $994 million for facilities across FY26–FY35, with $553 million in the first five years, that funding has grown substantially over five
- How did the FDNY handle this winter's cold-weather emergencies? Council Member Crystal Hudson asked about cold-weather response. Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said this past winter was colder and longer than usual and drove a spike in call volume, and Deputy Commissioner Lizette Christoff said related overtime costs were folded into personnel-budget
- Can ambulance sirens be made safer for the crews who ride under them? Council Member Lincoln Restler, echoing Gale A. Brewer, raised the health toll of ambulance siren noise. Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore agreed it affects all first responders and pointed to ongoing work on siren alternatives, and EMS Chief Paul Miano said the department added an EMS division chief
- Why is aging fire apparatus taking so long to replace? Chief of Department John Esposito and Deputy Commissioner Lizette Christoff said replacement of frontline apparatus — governed by a fire-officers' union contract provision on rig age — has been delayed by the manufacturer's global supply-chain backlog, not by funding, and that the FDNY has been
- Chair Ariola's photo walkthrough of deteriorating firehouses Chair Joann Ariola walked through photographs of crumbling walls, roof leaks, and buckling apparatus floors at firehouses including Engine 262, Engine 4/Ladder 15, Squad 288, and Engine 290/Ladder 103. Assistant Commissioner Paul DeRocchis said several had already been repaired and disputed that one
Agenda
1 item
- T2026-1894 NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL FISCAL YEAR 2027 EXECUTIVE BUDGET HEARINGS 2:00 p.m. New York Fire Department Jointly with the Committee on Finance Hearing Held by Committee