A Charge Against FDNY Hiring and a Response...

Recently, an Associated Press piece came out that mis-characterized the current and ongoing FDNY lawsuit, requiring that the record be corrected.

On Monday, August 1^st, an article entitled “FDNY Needs Monitoring of Hiring Practices” appeared throughout the country via Colleen Long of the AP.

The article, Lawyers: FDNY Needs Monitoring of Hiring Practices, by Colleen Long of the Associated Press can be found at; http://www.wthr.com/story/15187522/lawyers-fdny-needs-monitoring-of-hiring-practices reads in part, The Fire Department of New York must be monitored as it works to change its hiring practices after a federal judge ruled the nation's largest department discriminated against minorities, lawyers argued Monday.

Well, that charge is demonstrably wrong, as New York City’s ENTIRE Municipal workforce is ethnically imbalanced.

It’s New York City’s ENTIRE Workforce That Needs Monitoring!

Note that the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) attorneys, representing the Vulcan Society’s leadership has never singled out the FDNY as “the only New York City agency that DOESN’T LOOK LIKE New York.”

The reason they haven’t is because NONE of New York City’s Municipal agencies look much like New York City at all.

Given that non-Latino blacks comprise 23% of New York City’s population and 36% of its Municipal workforce, we can quickly surmise that New York City and its Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) are not at all “racist,” at least not “anti-black,” otherwise, how would blacks be the most over-represented ethnicity in the New York City workforce?

So, the issue is NOT race or racism, it’s demographics or ethnic equilibrium. In short, it’s, “Why doesn’t New York City’s Workforce look more like New York City?”

Now, IF, as the CCR, claims, “New York City’s workforce must look like New York City,” then the entire Municipal workforce must be reviewed and held to account.

The case against the FDNY IS, in fact an indictment of EVERY New York City agency, as a recent City Limits article noted, the FDNY is not the only and hardly the worst offender in terms of ethnic imbalance!

According to a recent City Limits article, “The Census Bureau, which treats race and Latino origin separately (meaning Latinos can be of any race), estimates that New York City is about 35 percent non-Latino white, 28 percent Latino, 23 percent non-Latino black and 12 percent non-Latino Asian.”

SEE: http://www.citylimits.org/news/articles/4038/the-whitest-city-agencies

The current composition of New York City’s workforce is 38 percent white, 36 percent black, 18 percent Latino and 6 percent Asian, according to statistics from the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which, unlike the Census, DOES consider race and Latino origin to be mutually exclusive.

So the municipal workforce is slightly skewed toward whites (38% of workforce/35% of population or +3% or appx. 9% over-represented) and significantly skewed toward blacks (36% of workforce/23% of population or +13% or appx. 54% over-represented)!

Latinos and Asians are substantially under-represented.

However, several departments deviate substantially from these overall numbers. The Fire Department is 77 percent white. Several smaller departments (the Landmarks Commission, Office of Emergency Management, Civilian Complaint Review Board and Office of the Mayor) are also more than 50 percent white.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Department of Juvenile Justice is 78 percent black. The Equal Employment Practices Commission is 63 percent black and the larger agencies of Human Resources, Correction and Children's Services are all more than 60 percent black. Latinos and Asians, however, remain under-represented at most of these.

The New York City Board of Education is 85% female.

To adequately address the charge facing Judge Garaufis, the entire City workforce will have to be “scrutinized and adjusted.” It must be noted that just as the fact that “not many candidates from other groups were taking the FDNY Exams,” the same charge is equally true for all these other City agencies as well. Even when outreach and recruitment efforts have failed, “other remedies” have been required of the FDNY. Not so, for New York City’s other, even more unbalanced and less diverse agencies! According to the stand taken by the FDNY Vulcan Society and the CCR, since New York City’s entire workforce is grossly racially/ethnically imbalanced, then a massive citywide reorganization is in order.

This, of course, is NOT what Merit Matters supports.

We believe that people apply for and gravitate to those jobs they have an affinity for, BUT a court order that would mandate that the FDNY, as a New York City agency, must “look like New York City,” then it’s clear that that order stands for every other New York City agency as well.

We agree with the findings in City Limits that while black New Yorkers are heavily over-represented in New York City’s workforce and white New Yorkers slightly over-represented, both Asians and Hispanics remain significantly under-represented, but we’d prefer that the inevitable changes occur organically, rather than by lowering standards. Why use an axe, when a scalpel is what’s most needed.

JMK

NY Times Article Addresses Ongoing FDNY Controversy....

The New York Times' Alan Feuer looks at the ongoing FDNY controversy in an article in Sunday's (August 28th, 2011) New York Times;


Find article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/nyregion/a-fire-department-under-pressure-to-diversify.html?scp=1&sq=A%20Fire%20Department%20Under%20Pressure%20to%20Diversify&st=cse

Merit Matters Press Release - Thursday, August 18th, 2011 Timeline Suggests Possible Perjury in FDNY Lawsuit

Merit Matters Press Release - Thursday, August 18th, 2011

While testifying under oath on August 16, 2011 retired FDNY Firefighter Lanaird Granger repeated a claim about finding a noose on his gear that he had originally made in 2005. I had a letter published in the Chief-Leader newspaper on April 7, 2006 which pointed out a number of contradictory statements made by FF Granger which cast doubt on the truthfulness of that claim. To date, no person or entity has responded to my refutation of his claim which lends credibility that the refutation is truthful.

In his recent testimony - again, given under oath - Granger appeared to make another contradictory claim; a claim that is easily proven false beyond the shadow of a doubt and one that apparently attempts to take advantage of the deaths of three FDNY members and the serious injury of four others. Consider this timeline:

January 19, 2005 - Granger claims to have found the noose.

January 20, 2005 (the next day) - Granger testified he showed the noose to Vulcan President Captain Paul Washington and Lieutenant Michael Marshall. Granger stated they made the decision to delay filing a formal complaint because of the Line of Duty Deaths, referring to the Black Sunday tragedy.

January 23, 2005 - the Black Sunday tragedy occurred, three days after Granger claimed it as the reason for the delay in filing a formal complaint.

February 10, 2005 - Granger files a formal complaint. Note: there were no other FDNY Line of Duty deaths between January 19, 2005 and February 10, 2005.

February 18, 2005 - a story appearing in the Chief-Leader reported that Granger “waited for three weeks to report it (discovery of the noose) because he couldn’t decide what to do”.

August 15, 2011 - On the day before Granger’s testimony and casting further doubt on Granger’s claim as to the reason for the delay, Captain Paul Washington testified under oath that he could not recall what happened on Black Sunday. When pressed, and given some of the details of that day, he stated that he did remember some of the Bronx tragedy details but nothing about the death later that same day in Brooklyn. If Granger’s explanation for the delay is truthful it is very unlikely that Captain Washington would not be able to remember the facts of that tragic day.

Much is made of the fact that Granger’s noose claim has been substantiated but this determination is highly suspect. It was made by the FDNY EEO Unit, led at the time by Paulette Lundy, a civilian who once adamantly argued while advocating for more female firefighters that physical strength is not necessary for firefighting. In her ruling on this case she also noted that no one was identified as being directly involved in placing the noose but the motive was to retaliate against Granger for his association with the Vulcan Society. I questioned (in my April 7, 2006 letter) how she could discover a motive for an action when no one was found to have committed the action and I think for this reason, and the demonstrably false claim made by Granger recently, the investigation into this incident must be re-opened.

I also demand that an investigation be made into Granger’s possible perjury. Utilizing a potent, racially explosive symbol of terrorism in a false, misleading manner, exploiting the deaths of fellow firefighters for personal gain and lying under oath cannot go unpunished and if this is what Granger has done it must be investigated and, as Judge Garaufis has recently remarked, “let the chips fall where they may”.

Paul Mannix

President, Merit Matters

Merit Matters President in Daily News Voice of the People....

Wading River, L.I.: "On the hot seat" (Aug. 10) implied that because I am critical of the FDNY Vulcan Society, I am not ensuring "a positive climate for civil rights." The Vulcans' leaders are not against the most radical methods of integrating the FDNY and have made reckless statements minimizing the dangers of firefighting. The most glaring example of such lowering of standards is Judge Nicholas Garaufis' ruling that reading comprehension ability is not required to be a firefighter. Our group maintains that everyone should receive equal treatment, without regard to color, gender, race or religion, which puts us in alignment with the FDNY's Equal Employment Opportunity Unit's Policy Statement. The Vulcans have advocated quota hiring based on race, which, said another way, means not hiring someone based on race. I ask your readers to decide who it is that is not ensuring a positive climate for civil rights.

Paul Mannix President, Merit Matters

SEE: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/letters/index.html

Merit Matters President, Deputy Chief Paul Mannix will be on Right Hook Radio this afternoon!

Merit MattersPresident, Deputy Chief Paul Mannix will be interviewed on Right Hook Radio this afternon (2pm);


http://www.blogtalkradio.com/therighthook/2011/08/17/the-right-hook

Merit Matters PRESS RELEASE - Friday, August 12th, 2011

Did alleged FDNY cheating benefit minorities?

Our Press Release yesterday concerned testimony from last week’s hearings related to the lawsuit against NYC and the FDNY. Today’s is also related to those hearings, specifically the claims of widespread cheating.

It is pretty well documented that the proctors charged with maintaining order at the testing sites for the 2007 FDNY entry test failed miserably at this task - but the responsibility to administer the test properly belonged to the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), not the FDNY, and the chaos hurt all candidates, not just minorities. Upon learning of a memo detailing this cheating, among other problems, from FDNY Assistant Commissioner Michele Maglione to Deputy Commissioner Douglas White Judge Nicholas Garaufis stated, “If I...received a memo like this, I’d jump out of my skin.” I eagerly await his response to what I reveal here.

I have presented well documented concerns regarding the Vulcan Society prep course for the 2007 exam (see attached Timeline) and the possibility that they may have had prior knowledge of what type of questions were going to appear on that test. Their course had the very unique type of subjective questions that appeared on that test while the city’s own course did not. This was the inspiration for what I believe was a very cursory investigation conducted by Commissioner White which found that all was above board.

I have my doubts about that conclusion and brought those doubts to the NYC Department of Investigation (DOI) in September of 2010, testifying under oath for them in November. In December I was notified they were referring it to DCAS for investigation. After repeated contacts I was told on March 7^th, 2011 that the issue was getting attention but that the Judge and the Special Master (Mary Jo White) were in charge. I am confused as to what that meant - will they be conducting an investigation or are they saying that no investigation will be conducted?

Following the March 7^th notification from DCAS I attempted to contact DOI to ascertain their reaction to this without success - I was not even afforded the courtesy of a return phone call. On May 12^th I contacted Public Advocate Bill deBlasio’s office. Numerous contacts with that office ended July 20^th when I spoke to an official there and asked for a decision in writing as to whether they would advocate for the public on this issue or not. I was promised a phone call back for later that day which never came.

The above, detailing my unsuccessful attempts to get someone interested in this issue, might make it seem that I should take the hint and drop the issue but I will not, and propose this choice: either investigate the Vulcan Society or investigate me. If my concerns are not reasonable based on the evidence presented, perhaps I should not continue to hold a position of authority in the FDNY.

Here is the TIMELINE;

Timeline

Test was given January 20, 2007

1) 10/27/06 Chief newspaper - written test may be revamped; fire test candidates multiply. DCAS officials won’t comment on what changes, if any, are pending for written test- the test “is still being developed” and it would be inappropriate to comment. Sources stated, however, that at a minimum the content of the written test will undergo a fairly comprehensive revision and, according to several sources, this year’s changes are more likely linked to the city’s desire to protect itself from possible discrimination lawsuits. Captain Paul Washington (former Vulcan President) declined to comment on possible changes to the written exam.

2) 11/17/06 FDNY Recruitment Advisory Council Committee meeting- details of test came up but no one knew of any changes.

3) 12/1/06 Chief newspaper- I had a letter printed in which I detail the 1996 Suffolk County P.D. test, which was very subjective and which the DoJ had a hand in designing. I end the letter with the hope that we don’t see a test like that but acknowledging that common sense takes a back seat when protected classes claim discrimination.

4) 12/8/06 Chief newspaper- city run tutoring done by the FDNY began late November/ early December 2006 and ran for 7 weeks (test given 1/20/07)

5) 2007-2008 FDNY Strategic Plan Initiatives (www.nyc.gov/fdny) lists as the #1 concern increasing diversity in the FDNY.

6) 1/19/07 Daily News (Jonathan Lemire)- on the day before the test, “sources confirmed that the written exam...has been altered from previous editions”.

7) 6/1/07 Chief newspaper- Vulcans said 2007 test was hastily re-written and department prep classes were not informed of change until halfway through courses (sentence in story says ‘the society insisted...”; Vulcan President John Coombs was quoted earlier in the same story by name). Note: the Fire Department prep course did not contain any of the very subjective types of questions that appeared on the real test. Only the Vulcan Society prep class contained these types of questions (which had never before appeared on FDNY tests). I was not aware of this statement when I made my call(s) for an investigation in January and February 2008, only becoming aware of it long after that time. I believe the person who drew up the test, Dr. Catherine Cline, testified in Judge Garaufis’ court on 7/20/10 something along these lines- that the test was not complete until late December 2006.

8) 1/25/08 Chief newspaper- my long, detailed letter commenting on the test and issues surrounding it is printed in which I call for an investigation (I repeated this call in a letter printed 2/29/08). This touches off a number of letters in the next few weeks in The Chief. A cursory investigation was done in February 2007 (the month after the test) which was detailed in an e-mail dated 2/23/07 from FDNY Deputy Comm. Don Shacknai (now First Deputy Comm.) to various parties (including Robert Wallace) which he wrote could be forwarded freely. In my opinion it does not address why the Vulcan class presented these types of questions but not the Fire Dept.’s own class. In addition, the person tasked with carrying out the investigation, Deputy Commissioner Doug White, has been very sympathetic to the goals of the Vulcan Society and the various efforts which I view as unfair and serving to lower standards.

9) 2/15/08 Chief newspaper- in one of those letters Vulcan President John Coombs wrote that they hired someone knowledgeable of testing procedures which is why their class had those types of questions. The identity of this person was not revealed, nor, to my knowledge, has it been asked.

Paul Mannix, President, Merit Matters