The extraordinary upheaval at the fire department continued Tuesday with news that three top officials are leaving the agency.
Frank Dwyer, the deputy commissioner for public information, and Terryl Brown, the deputy commissioner for legal affairs and administration, were terminated, and the assistant commissioner for human resources, Tricia Singh, resigned.
And those are only the latest dramatic personnel moves in recent weeks. Earlier this month, FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh announced the demotion of three assistant chiefs, leading several other chiefs to give up their own titles in protest, including Chief of Department John Hodgens and Chief of Fire Operations John Esposito.
What You Need To Know
- Three top FDNY officials are on their way out as a dramatic shakeup within the department continues
- FDNY deputy commissioners Frank Dwyer and Terryl Brown have been terminated and assistant commissioner Tricia Singh resigned
- The latest personnel moves come as four fire chiefs have filed suit against Commissioner Laura Kavanagh
- The lawsuit seeks reinstatement of 11 fire chiefs who have been demoted in recent weeks
Now, a lawsuit seeks to have all affected chiefs reinstated.
“The city’s literally at risk,” said attorney Jim Walden, attorney for the four plaintiffs in the case.
Walden says the shakeup has left the FDNY with so few experienced incident commanders, it’s not properly equipped to handle a major fire or other disaster.
The lawsuit takes particular aim at Kavanagh, asserting she demoted the chiefs for speaking up about her decision-making.
“To do it for retaliation because they were complaining about her decisions that are having a negative impact on safety, that’s just simply illegal,” Walden said.
Walden is calling for Kavanagh’s ouster, but Mayor Eric Adams, who made her the city’s first female fire commissioner last year, has so far stuck by her.
The FDNY said in a statement Tuesday: “Like every commissioner, Commissioner Kavanagh is putting together a leadership team that will help her deliver on the priorities set out for the FDNY. On behalf of all New Yorkers, we thank these members for their service to the Fire Department and to the City of New York, and wish them well.”
As for the lawsuit, the city’s law department said in a statement Wednesday morning that “the personnel decisions made by the FDNY Commissioner were lawful and within her authority. We will respond accordingly in the litigation.”
“Sooner or later, politicians will wake up to say, we can’t have the fire department devolve into chaos,” Walden said. “And that’s exactly what’s happening. It is completely unraveling.”