City officials were justifiably proud as they swore in the latest class of probationary firefighters, the most ethnically diverse in FDNY history. But there was a downside.
“This is, by any measure, an historic day for this department and for our entire city — and you are a true cross-section of New York,” Mayor Bloomberg told the probies.
The figures bear him out: The new class is 27% African-American, 37% Latino and 2% Asian. It also includes eight women, the highest number in more than 30 years.
But there’s another point that Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Sal Cassano did not highlight: As The Post’s Beth DeFalco reported, 40% of those who took the oath are in their 30s and early 40s.
That makes this not only the most diverse class of firefighters, but also the oldest — by far. And for that, New Yorkers can “thank” one person: federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis.
The new probies include many who took the firefighters exam starting way back in 1999 but weren’t hired for a number of reasons — all of which Garaufis took as evidence of discrimination against minorities, based on “disparate impact.”
As a result, Garaufis — who arrived at his conclusions while hearing a federal lawsuit against the FDNY but without the benefit of a full trial — kept the city from hiring new recruits for years, even as the department aggressively solicited members of minority communities.
The US Court of Appeals later found that Garaufis “made an unwarranted venture into fact-finding at a preliminary stage” and that his impartiality was so open to question that it ordered a different judge to determine whether the FDNY intentionally discriminated against minorities.
The older probies now joining the department were allowed to retake a new version of the written test, passed and were hired. Despite their age, they still must meet strict physical standards, officials say, but we suspect the city won’t be eager to dismiss these older probies too readily.
Garaufis essentially put himself in charge of the FDNY for years. The city is now largely out from under that burden, but New Yorkers will continue to pay the price for years to come.