Locals Say Bloomberg Can 'Fuhgeddabout' Closing Engine 220

Midway through a rally against Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Park Slope’s Engine 220, the 11th Street firehouse got a call – it was time for action.

Hundreds of locals – from the little ones at PS 107 to Public Advocate Bill deBlasio – quickly scattered from the fire station’s driveway as a fire truck pulled out and turned on its sirens.

The chaotic scene demonstrated precisely the point that so many had turned up to make: Engine 220 is vital to the safety of this neighborhood.

“Brooklyn will not take it on the chin for everyone,” said Borough President Marty Markowitz, addressing a sweaty crowd holding banners and sporting “Save Engine 220” T-shirts. A class at PS 107 had even constructed colorful models of the station’s historic row house.

“The bottom line is the safety and security of our resident,” said Markowitz, who lives nearby in Windsor Terrace. “When you have times that are financially tough, you have to concentrate on providing the basic services.

The 11th Street firehouse is one of eight fire stations in Brooklyn and 20 citywide that Bloomberg plans to shutter in July in an attempt to address the city’s ever-shrinking budget.

It is one of only two firehouses in Park Slope, serving parts of Windsor Terrace and South Slope. If closed, emergency response times in the neighborhood will be significantly impacted.

According to City Council statistics, if the 11th Street station is closed, the first arrival time would jump from 3:38 to 4:08 seconds (a 19 percent increase), and the second arrival would go from 4:08 to 5:24 (a 30 percent increase).

Since the announcement last week, hundreds of local residents have to Bloomberg demanding that the station remain open.

“If there is a fire, where is the next engine company going to come from? And what if that engine is out on another call?” questioned Joe Fischer, a South Sloper who attended the rally. “Seconds can make the difference of life or death. You can’t put a price on a life.”

In addition to Markowitz, local residents on hand this morning to rally for the fire station included local figureheads like Public Advocate Bill deBlasio, Councilmember Brad Lander, Community Board 6 District Manager Craig Hammerman and Congregation Beth Elohim’s Rabbi Andy Bachman. Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley, chair of the Chair of the Fire and Criminal Justice Committee, and Uniform Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy were on hand as well.

“Everybody knows that this makes no sense,” said Lander, sharing with the crowd how his eight-year-old daught had asked him why “the Mayor cares more about saving money than saving lives.”

Lander later led the crowd in a chant inspired by Markowitz’s response to the plan: “Fuhgeddaboudit, Fuhgeddaboudit.”

Assemblyman Jim Brennan will hold a for the fire station on Thursday evening.