STATEMENT FROM LHOTA CAMPAIGN ON DE BLASIO UNIFORMED FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION ENDORSEMENT

 

September 25, 2013 

 

While accepting the endorsement today of the Uniformed Firefighters Association union, he fondly--and in considerable detail--recounted his 2003 fight to keep firehouses Engine 204 from closing and claimed to have prevented future firehouse closures. What Mr. de Blasio failed to mention in his remarks today was his position four years later, where he called the closure of the very same firehouse and the closing of another Brooklyn firehouse “fair and balanced.”

 

“Mr. de Blasio’s revisionist history is becoming a pattern in this campaign. The inconsistencies of his positions and remarks are increasingly troubling and raising serious issues about what voters can trust.” --Jessica Proud, campaign spokeswoman  

 

Bill de Blasio today: “Starting with the fight in 2003 to save the firehouse in the district I represent down in the city council… Engine 204 in Cobble Hill.  That fight to me just for the point of reference, that was the first time I was arrested on a municipal issue in this city.  That fight for me really was crucial because we stood up, gave our residents and the men and women who do the work, all of us stood shoulder to shoulder. You know that year we lost a few firehouses, but we didn’t lose them again after that.  And I think its no small measure due to the incredible fight that people put up in neighborhoods that were affected all over the city.  And then when the cuts were proposed year in and year out we kept coming back stronger every year.”

 

But, on May 16, 2007, a Daily News headline read: FIREHOUSE ACCORD STRUCK. Engine 204 to be leased, Engine 212 sold; 'Fair and balanced outcome,' de Blasio sez

"This is a fair and balanced outcome," Councilman Bill de Blasio said at City Hall.

LEADING ELECTED OFFICIALS ENDORSE BILL DE BLASIO

 

A group of six elected officials from across the city today announced their support for Bill de Blasio, the Democratic nominee for Mayor, and urged all New Yorkers to join them in their support in the November general election.

 

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Congress members Nydia Velazquez and Hakeem Jeffries, State Senator Eric Adams, Democratic nominee for Brooklyn Borough President; and State Senators Adriano Espaillat and Jose Peralta each announced their endorsement of Bill de Blasio for mayor today. These officials represent four borough’s of the city, and each has an ethnically and economically diverse constituency. The endorsement follows a meeting Bill de Blasio had with the officials on Sunday night, during which they discussed de Blasio’s vision for the future of the city and the November general election. “Bill de Blasio’s plan to fight inequality has resonated across all five boroughs, but especially in the Bronx. Bill de Blasio understands the need for a new day in our city, and will continue to fight for a living wage, for safer streets, for stronger schools and for the expansion of the middle class. As our next mayor Bill de Blasio will be a fighter for the people of this city, and I urge all Democrats, and in fact all New Yorkers, to join us in support of his candidacy for mayor,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

“After 20 years of Republican rule, the hard working people of this City are in crisis. The one percenters of New York are wealthier than ever, while working families and the most vulnerable continue to suffer income inequality and are being priced out of the City they love. Bill de Blasio represents a new vision for New Yorkers of all background. His vision to create an economic path that will create good paying jobs, affordable housing and an education system that integrates parents, children and teachers in the decision making process is key. His vision to provide ladders of opportunities for families to climb into the middle class is what this city needs today. I stand with Bill, whose message of a more inclusive New York resonates across the city. We must work together to get him elected,” said Rep. Nydia Velazquez of Brooklyn and Manhattan.