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The CEO of a serious New York-based safety agency is now the brand new hearth commissioner of New York Metropolis, changing Laura Kavanagh, who garnered the ire of her rank-and-file firefighters after a gaggle heckled the state’s legal professional common.
Kavanagh, the division’s first feminine commissioner, introduced final month that she could be stepping down.
New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams named Robert Tucker, the CEO of T&M USA, as her alternative Monday, confirming weekend reviews within the metropolis’s three main newspapers.
EMBATTLED FDNY COMMISSIONER LAURA KAVANAGH ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION
FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh visits Washington on Thursday, July 27, 2023. (Theodore Parisienne/New York Every day Information/Tribune Information Service through Getty Photographs)
Tucker was sworn in moments after the announcement on the metropolis’s hearth academy.
“Public security has been my life’s work,” he stated. “I’ve had an extended profession in the private and non-private sector, and being appointed the hearth commissioner of the Metropolis New York is the largest honor of my life.”
Andrew Ansbro, the president of the FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Affiliation, praised Tucker for the place in a press release Monday.
New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams swears in Robert Tucker as the brand new FDNY Commissioner on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (FDNY)
“It’s nice to see that the brand new commissioner has lengthy and deep ties with the FDNY and a fantastic appreciation for the rank and file of New York Metropolis’s bravest,” he stated in a press release. “From his early begin in communications and his arduous work and life-long dedication, which led to his appointment to the Board of Administrators for the FDNY Basis, his expertise makes him uniquely certified to know the modifications that may very well be made to enhance effectivity within the division by growing unit availability, which might result in a lower in response occasions.”
T&M USA CEO Robert Tucker will reportedly be named the FDNY’s subsequent hearth commissioner. He’s already a member of the FDNY Basis board. (FDNY Basis)
He added that Tucker’s expertise positions him to assist save lives within the Massive Apple.
“We want him luck and success as he assumes the position of commissioner of the FDNY, the best hearth division on the planet,” he stated.
Adams was scheduled to carry a information briefing on the metropolis’s firefighter academy and make a public security announcement at 11 a.m., based on the FDNY’s Twitter account.
Kavanagh kicked up an argument in March after Lawyer Basic Letitia James, whose workplace sued former President Trump for $350 million, obtained jeers and boos throughout a promotion ceremony earlier than members of the viewers began chanting the GOP candidate’s identify.
Whereas division leaders circulated a memo warning brass would “work out” who the hecklers have been, the FDNY backtracked a number of days later, denying there had ever been an investigation into those that booed James.
New York Lawyer Basic Letitia James advised a crowd of FDNY members to “simmer down” after they met her with boos and pro-Trump chants throughout a promotion ceremony. (FDNY)
FDNY FIRE COMMISSIONER JEERED DURING PARADE AFTER PROMISING TO ‘HUNT’ BOOING FIREFIGHTERS
FDNY Chief of Division John Hodgens handed down a fiery checklist of speaking factors, the New York Put up reported on the time, calling the habits “unacceptable” and saying an investigation would look at video of the occasion.
“BITS is investigating this, so they are going to work out who the members are,” Hodgens warned in an electronic mail to high-ranking FDNY officers. “I like to recommend they arrive ahead. I’ve been advised by the Commissioner will probably be higher for them if they arrive ahead, and we do not have to hunt them down.”
BITS refers back to the division’s Bureau of Investigation and Trials.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, left, FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, and Mayor Eric Adams attend the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on fifth Avenue. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket through Getty Photographs)
James herself stated she opposed disciplining anybody concerned within the interruption, she advised Politico’s Playbook in March.
“The occasions of final Thursday is not going to diminish my respect for the courageous women and men of FDNY,” she advised the outlet days after the incident. “I will likely be with them now, and I will likely be with them tomorrow.”
Nonetheless, the firefighters have been nonetheless fired up on St. Patrick’s Day, once they booed Kavanagh herself in the course of the metropolis’s annual parade.
Along with the spat with hecklers, her tenure was additionally marked by pressure with division members from the underside up. Final 12 months, a gaggle of demoted officers slapped her with an age discrimination lawsuit.
William, Prince of Wales, Appearing Fireplace Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, and John Hodgens converse at a FDNY Firehouse on September 19, 2023 in New York Metropolis. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Photographs)
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FDNY chaplain Pamela Holmes, who was honored on the ceremony and is mates with the legal professional common, had invited her to talk on the occasion.
Like Kavanagh, her anticipated alternative by no means served as a firefighter. Nonetheless, he’s an skilled on safety, particularly within the metropolis’s high-rise buildings, and sits on the board of the FDNY Basis, a nonprofit designed to help the division with public security campaigns and tools. He additionally has a prolonged background in legislation enforcement.
Tucker has already been named an honorary hearth commissioner and police commissioner within the Massive Apple. He took the helm of T&M again in 1999, based on his firm bio.
“His long-standing relationship with public providers, particularly his work on the board of the FDNY Basis, offers him an perception into the complexity and tradition of the FDNY,” stated James Brosi, the president of the FDNY Uniformed Fireplace Officers Affiliation. “His management and government expertise within the personal sector ought to allow him to successfully confront the challenges of the FDNY.”
Fox Information’ Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
FDNY hooks new boss after commissioner threatened to ‘hunt’ firefighters who booed Letitia James
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