This too is Yonkers–By Eric W. Schoen
This article was going to be about a scene I witnessed Tuesday at Starbucks on Bronx River Road; a woman fixing her coffee at the condiment bar collapsed. And it was going to be about the call I made to the mayor’s helpline to report a street light that was out for days. The night of the call the street light was working.
Then around 6 p.m. Tuesday night – a cold night – one of the worst fires in Yonkers history engulfed a beautiful, prewar apartment building that I had been in numerous times. It was the kind of fire that makes friends who know you live in Yonkers call to make sure you and your loved ones are okay.
The next time your taxes go up, be thankful we have a great fire department, police department, public works crews, emergency services such as Empress Ambulance, and those departments in City Hall charged with responding to disasters, fires and all of those situations we hope never happen.
I was sitting at Starbucks on Bronx River Road, drinking my espresso over ice, when a woman preparing her drink with cream and sugar at the condiment bar suddenly collapsed. Some customers picked the woman up and put her in a chair so she would be comfortable. One nice lady stood there and talked to her until emergency services arrived.
I called 911 on my cell phone. I know to always ask for Yonkers police and fire in these instances because you never know if the person answering the call at 911 knows where you are.
I still can’t figure out why this occurs, but we will save that for another day.
In a touch over 4 minutes, Yonkers Fire Department, Engine 313, Officer Fasciglione, Firefighter Dronzek, and two other firefighters were on the scene. Trained to stabilize the patient until the ambulance arrives, they did just that.
YFD, because of where the rigs are located, can be at any point in Yonkers within 4 minutes. Empress Ambulance may have just two or three vehicles covering Yonkers, so obviously it takes more time for them to get to the scene. Bottom line: Anytime someone says to do away with the fire department first responder program, tell them to do away with something else.
It took a little less than 10 minutes for the Empress supervisor to arrive and take over from the firefighters. Two to 3 minutes later an ambulance crew arrived to transport the patient to the hospital.
I remember in the 1990s when several Yonkers city administrators, including yours truly, visited Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse on a tour to learn about their first responder program. At the time, Yonkers was way behind those cities, with no program in which firefighters respond to the scene of a medical emergency. We’ve come a long way, and although I don’t like seeing medical emergencies, I feel great satisfaction when I see the system work as it did Tuesday.
The street light on Cerrato Lane coming in off Spruce Street next to the gate where you enter the school had been out for over a week. This light always causes controversy because you would think it was on school property, but Cerrato – where the light is located – is a public street,
hence city responsibility. I’ve called the light in before and always establish with the person I am talking to that repair is the responsibility of the city and not the Board of Education.
Next time your street light goes out, don’t moan and groan, but pick up the phone and call City Hall to report it. Think about it… A street light goes on at night, so the daytime public works crews don’t see if it is out.
So early last Friday I called the Mayor’s Helpline, asked to speak to my friend “ET” who runs the place. He wasn’t in. I spoke to his assistant Anthony and told him about the deal with the street light. I made sure he understood it was the city, and not Board of Education’s responsibility.
I arrived home close to midnight Friday and, lo and behold, it was fixed. Even though it is their job, when you work in City Hall with thousands of people calling to get lights, potholes, etc. fixed, it’s nice to pick up the phone and thank the person (and their supervisor) when the fix is done and things are back to normal.
This way, the next time, they remember your call and how appreciative you were and put you on the top of the pile. That’s a tip I learned working for 30 years with the City of Yonkers. Cash should never change hands, but a box of donuts or cookies can always go a long way.
Now we come back to the big fire Tuesday night… Beautiful apartment buildings, large rooms, high ceilings, on the Yonkers/Bronxville border. But once the fire gets into the cockloft you never know where it will go.
We saw pictures and video online and on the evening and morning news shows on television. It started at 6 p.m. Tuesday and was not called “under control” until 5 a.m. Wednesday. As we go to press, the Yonkers Fire Department is still busy dousing hot sports.
Firefighters were in the burning building until it got too hot and dangerous that the roof and floor below collapsed. At that point, the fire was fought from outside using every drop of water available. When more water was needed, it tapped into Bronxville and Eastchester’s water supply.
Yonkers would do the same for neighboring communities if they needed water.
Great photos and video were posted online by Journal News photographers including Mark Vergari, and News 12 cameramen. One had a firefighter up on a ladder high above the flames with a hose pouring gallons of water onto the fire. Someone online commented “pray for that poor firefighter.”
This is a good reminder to pray every night for the firefighters, police officers, emergency responders, and all of those charged with dealing with emergency situations. Sure, it costs a lot of money to have a first-class fire department putting out the terrible fire Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, but just remember one thing: Firefighters, police, and emergency responders are like life, car and home insurance policies – we hope we never have to use them but in case we do, it’s good to know they are there!
Pray for those who lost everything in the fire.
Brief: It was a great St. Patrick’s Day dinner at what we old-timers call “the raceway,” aka Empire City, on Saturday night. Kudos to Jean Tickell and her committee. It’s always great to see Parade Co-Chairman Larry McCrudden and his wife. Larry has kept the parade going for so many years
One of the aides to Grand Marshal Caitriona Clark, chairman of the great Aisling Irish Center, is a man who does so much good work in Yonkers and beyond and rarely gets recognized – Robert Stauf (pictured). I call Bob the “cause of the month man” because when he’s asked to help the community, he puts his heart into any issue he is involved with. I call Bob my teacher, colleague in doing service for the community, and most importantly my friend. He’s an excellent choice to lead the parade up McLean Avenue with the grand marshal and other aides including my friend, well-respected Judge Arthur Doran on March 23!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show on Thursdays from 10 to 11 a.m. on WVOX 1460 AM or go to WVOX.com and click the arrow to listen to the live stream.
