Volunteer fire departments and rescue services in the 7th state Senate District were promised approximately $2 million in grants that were never delivered through former state Sen. Craig Johnson, according to fire officials.
Except for one grant to the Village of Mineola for $100,000, these grants do not appear on a list compiled by Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola) of $8.5 million in grants officially withdrawn by the Democratic majority in the state Senate after Martins beat Johnson in their sharply contested senate race last year.
Martins recently met with representatives of fire departments in the 7th Senate District, including departments in Garden City Park, New Hyde Park, Floral Park, South Floral Park, Mineola, Manhasset-Lakeville, Port Washington, and to address the issue.
Several fire chiefs expressed concern over the unfulfilled grants since they had, in some cases, purchased equipment with the expectation that their fire district would be reimbursement through the grants.
“What irritated us is from a political standpoint, he was telling everybody that he took care of the fire services,” Mineola Fire Chief Robert Connolly said.
Martins and Lee Zeldin, the Republican who defeated Democrat Brian Foley in the 3rd state Senate District in the general election, recently issued a joint statement saying the grants withdrawn by the Democratic majority were “politically charged actions” that were “grossly irresponsible, devoid of integrity.” They said the withdrawn grants had caused “significant harm to the recipients…who have been deceived by their actions.”
Martins and Zeldin said they have reached out to all the organizations they were able to identify who may have received funding commitments “in order to set the record straight.”
At the meeting with Martins, Floral Park Fire Department Chief Everett Ulmer said Martins didn’t offer any encouragement about recovering the promised grant money.
“He didn’t say it was there. He said it might not be there,” Ulmer recounted.
Connolly said he was contacted by a member of Johnson’s staff with “great news” about a $100,000 grant and received a letter from Johnson that the grant had been approved, and that the department would shortly receive confirmation from the state. The money was intended to help repair the Mineola fire house roof – a project whose total cost was placed at $600,000. Mineola village clerk Joe Scalero said the village subsequently was told they would receive a second $100,000 grant for the project.
“The roof on this building leaks like a sieve. To repair the roof would be a tremendous expense,” Connolly said. “That $200,000 would have gone a long way to help create the project.”
Connolly said he pursued the grant “aggressively,” but it never materialized.
The Mineola Volunteer Ambulance Corps, a separate operation from the village’s fire department, secured a bridge loan to buy a new ambulance for $161,000, according Tom Devaney, the Mineola corps’ ex-president who handles grants for the ambulance service. The Mineola Volunteer Ambulance Corp. received $100,000 for one grant, but is still awaiting payment on a second grant of $100,000.
In the November election in which Johnson lost his senate seat, Devaney lost a bid for the 17th Assembly District as the Democratic candidate.
“They don’t make it easy,” Devaney said of the process that was initiated in 2009. “Half the battle’s getting the grant. The other half is getting paid on it.”
The Great Neck Alert and the Great Neck Vigilant Hook and Ladder Companies each applied for $100,000 grants to purchase new Red Alert computer equipment that included a global position system component. The neighboring Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department sought to acquire the same equipment via an $80,000 grant, with the three departments planning to use the equipment for fires that they frequently fight cooperatively, according to Andrew DeMartin, chairman of the board of the Manhasset Lakeville Fire Water District.
The system functions as a locator for fire trucks, so each department can see the proximity of the other departments’ vehicles to the scene of an emergency call.
“That’s why we all did it together. We all put in for a Red Alert system,” DeMartin said. “The long-term goal is to have the same thing, with all three of us having the same alert system in our vehicles. It didn’t make sense unless all of us get it.”
DeMartin said Manhasset-Lakeville also didn’t receive $20,000 for a grant to purchase equipment to refill oxygen tanks.
Garden City Park Fire Department Chief William Rudnick said his department and many other fire departments were contacted by Johnson’s staff to offer grants of $100,000 for whatever the departments needed.
“We have been looking for a way to replace our portable radios,” Rudknick said.
As first assistant chief at the time, Rudnick handled the application for $100,000 for new mobile radio equipment to replace its outdated hand-held devices. The new devices have what he described as “May Day” buttons that emit signal indicating that a firefighter is in serious trouble.
“It’s horrible. We were trying to use the money for life-saving equipment,” Rudnick said.
Rudnick said the department did receive confirmation of the grant from the dormitory authority. But the department has yet to see the check.
“We were assured by New York State that we got the grant,” Rudnick said, adding that no notification countering that confirmation has yet been received.
“We were going to have to do it anyway. Our radios were 12 years old,” Rudnick said.
The Port Washington Fire Department spent $130,000 to buy 85 “bail-out” systems, consisting of nylon ropes with hooks on one end and a harness on the other, to enable individual firefighters to escape from buildings two stories high or higher. The systems are being mandated by the state so Port Washington Fire Department Chief Thomas McDonough decided to make the expenditure and recover the money through a grant secured by Johnson.
“The state said I have to do it. Unfortunately, the senator who was in place didn’t get back in, so we’re starting from square one,” McDonough said.
Another grant left in limbo is one for $100,000 the Floral Park Fire Department sought for capital improvements to its north side fire house, according to Floral Park Fire Department Chief Everett Ulmer. While the grant didn’t involve a need related to a safety issue, the department did need to replace a boiler in its north side and renovate bathrooms installed in 1930 that had problems with their water pipes
So the department spent $20,000 on bathrooms and another $10,000 to replace the boiler.
The money was coming through the dormitory authority, which typically stipulates that it provide reimbursement for projects that are completed. Ulmer said that he received correspondence indicating that there was progress made on processing the grants. But he never received written confirmation from the state dormitory authority, or notification that the grant was rescinded.
“There’s a few things that we went ahead with that needed to be done anyway. We don’t feel good about it, but what are you going to do? It’s just confusing because you wonder if it was there to begin with,” Ulmer said.
Other fire departments left in limbo on the unfunded grants include:
•Albertson Hook and Ladder Engine Hose Company No. 1; $100,000 for renovation of the Dewey Avenue firehouse and replacement of a generator
•New Hyde Park Fire Department: $100,000 for parking lot repair
•Bellerose Fire Department: $100,000 for purchase of equipment (unspecified)
•Williston Park:$100,000 for security upgrades and purchase of equipment
•East Williston: $100,000 for communications equipment and building renovation
•Roslyn Rescue: $100,000 for turnout gear and a generator
•Roslyn Highland: $100,000 turnout gear and a generator
Most of these projects, culled from a list provided to one of the fire departments by Johnson’s office, are characterized as “under review by the Dormitory Authority of New York State.”
The elation of the respective departments gradually turned to skepticism, and ultimately, cynical realizations about the money promised by Johnson and his staff.
“He was putting it out there to get the backing of the fire service. He was making promises he couldn’t keep,” one fire department chief said “We all thought it was a little odd that he could come up with $100k for every department. We all thought too good to be true, and it was.”
