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#NYC EMS union chief says crews are under attack

#NYC EMS union chief says crews are under attack

FDNY EMTs and paramedics are under attack and in dire need of first aid, but no one is hearing their call, their union boss said.

Since January, anti-authority thugs have smashed windows of at least four ambulances and vandalized vehicles parked at an EMS base in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Oren Barzilay, president of Local 2507 of the Uniformed EMTs, Paramedics and Fire Inspectors union, told The Post.

On Jan. 1, an EMS crew was driving on Marcus Garvey Boulevard near Quincy Street just before 6 p.m. when someone hurled an unknown object, smashing a passenger side window, police said. No one was reported injured.

The attacks have happened monthly, with similar incidents occurring in the same area — at Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Monroe Street on Feb. 14; Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Gates Avenue on March 28; and Monroe Street and Lewis Avenue near Marcus Garvey Boulevard, on April 11.

Vandalism done to ambulances in April 2021.
Two ambulances near the FDNY EMS Station 57 on Throop Avenue in Bed-Stuy were also tagged with “FTP” — slang for F–k the police — on April 13.

“Someone is targeting our crews,” Barzilay said. “The last incident had a brick thrown at them as they were responding to an emergency call.

“These incidents are causing a delay in getting the public the help they need as these units are placed off-service for investigation, the wellness of our members and repairs.”

Two ambulances near the FDNY EMS Station 57 on Throop Avenue in Bed-Stuy were also tagged with “FTP” — slang for F–k the police — on April 13.

Barzilay asserts his troops face “day-to-day assault,” but get no safety, self-defense or de-escalation training and are outfitted with 20-year-old bulletproof vests — which expired five years after production.

Vandalism done to ambulances in April 2021.
The attacks have happened monthly, with similar incidents occurring in the same area.

The union head said there are no signs that anything is being done to address the safety concerns.

“The [FDNY] department is only reactive when someone gets killed,” he charged.

The Post reported last month that 52 paramedics and emergency medical technicians had been attacked in 2021.

FDNY EMS Statin 57 located at 131 Throop Ave. in Brooklyn on April 16, 2021.
FDNY EMS Statin 57 located at 131 Throop Ave. in Brooklyn on April 16, 2021.
Paul Martinka

In a stomach-turning March 5 incident, Jenna Piscitello, 28, who started as an EMT and became a paramedic in 2019, was bitten in the face in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, after she and her crew responded to a call for a patient with “altered mental status.”

An FDNY spokesman said, “FDNY Fire Marshals are working with the NYPD investigating this matter.” 

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