The Issue: Judge Garaufis’ decision to appoint a monitor to the FDNY to prevent discriminatory hiring.
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Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis criticizes the FDNY for not asking “hard questions” in regard to its track record when it comes to hiring black and Hispanic firefighters (“King of the Fire Department,” Editorial, Oct. 6).
Having taken the sixth-grade-level entrance exam, I agree — there aren’t any hard questions.
Marty Currid
Yonkers
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We must select people to make life-or-death decisions and be physically able to complete certain tasks.
If there is no desire in a specific community to be a firefighter, Garaufis cannot change that culture.
Like most activists, he has no knowledge of those he says he would help. All he is doing is satisfying his own ideological beliefs and endangering the lives of innocent citizens.
Some of my closest friends were in the FDNY. They were average students but physically fit — and all had a passion for the job and studied very hard for their tests.
Race has nothing to do with it.
R. Sanfilippo
Roslyn Heights
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If anyone thinks that any FDNY entrance exam was littered with SAT-like questions, we have become a society of idiots. These tests are designed to illustrate if the person taking the test has common sense, something this culture has lost.
I took one of these tests in 1976, when there wasn’t any recruiting effort.
Today, we have massive recruiting efforts in minority neighborhoods that last for years.
We have preapplications so that these individuals can be notified when it is time to apply. The physical test is pass or fail, and if someone has trouble reading, a proctor will assist.
We call the recruits and pick them up, and we even allow people who are late to still take the test.
I have been blessed to work with the best of the best, regardless of race, religion or any other politically correct reason.
Working for the FDNY is a dangerous job that requires a desire to be part of it, not a persuasion.
Douglas Scherma
Battalion Chief, FDNY
Middletown