Opinion

Fight for firehouses

The extreme budgetary shortfall that the city is facing is real and must be addressed, but cutting through the muscle of the FDNY and the NYPD will unnecessarily endanger all of us (“Sharpening the Fire Ax,” Oct. 25).

Instead of closing firehouses and cutting the NYPD, the city should eliminate the failing Unified Call Taking system (UCT).

The UCT has a price tag of $1.3 billion, while closing 25 firehouses would only save approximately $30 million.

Considering all the deficiencies of this troubled system, eliminating it would promote, rather than compromise, the safety of all city residents and the firefighters who serve them.

Cpt. Alexander Hagan

President

Uniformed Fire Officers

Association

Manhattan