The War Years
“STANDING FAST “
RETIRED BUT STILL THE BRAVEST
Welcome to “Standing Fast” The official newsletter of the Gene Okane Division of “FDNY Retired., the first & oldest FDNY retirees organization ever organized. We have been chartered in the state of Florida since 1979.
Email: okanefdny@verizon.net Postal Address: FDNY Retired, Box 76 P.O. Box 76, Port Richey, Fl 34673-0076
Presidents Report April 2023
Upcoming Events:
3-4 Spring Picnic
3-21 Monthly Meeting
4-7 Good Friday
4-9 Easter
4-18 April Meeting
5-16 Monthly Meeting
TOP RANK TURMAIL CONTINUES IN FDNY
Two NYC Deputy Fire Commissioners Ousted as Top-Rank Turmoil Continues in FDNY
by T Tracy, M Gartland, L Greene – NY Daily News – 2.28.23
The nation’s largest fire department has its own inferno to put out after pressure building in the upper ranks of the FDNY exploded on Tuesday with the terminations of two deputy commissioners. Gone are Terryl Brown, the department’s chief legal counsel who was also the FDNY’s deputy commissioner for legal affairs, and Frank Dwyer, the department’s longtime deputy commissioner for public information.
Brown and Dwyer are the latest FDNY executives caught up in the simmering feud that began weeks ago when Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh butted heads with disgruntled brass.
“Like every commissioner, Commissioner Kavanagh is putting together a leadership team that will help her deliver on the priorities set out for the FDNY,” the department said in a statement.
“On behalf of all New Yorkers, we thank these members for their service to the Fire Department and to the City of New York, and wish them well. New Yorkers can rest assured that the FDNY is as prepared as ever to keep them safe and respond to any and all emergencies.”
Brown, the highest ranking black woman in the agency, was “Switzerland” in the department, and didn’t take a side in the ongoing battle over the chiefs, said a high-ranking FDNY source. She was a finalist for the commissioner position now held by Kavanagh.
“She just gave her legal opinions and that was it,” the source said. “It was quite a shock. She came into Kavanagh’s room and afterwards the chiefs called her into a room they had all gathered and gave her a hug. She was really respected.”
The conflagration in the department’s upper ranks grew so intense it drew in a top aide to Mayor Adams.
Deputy Mayor Philip Banks III, who oversees public safety for Adams, made phone calls to two chiefs, John “Jack” Hodgens, the most senior uniformed official in the agency, and Chief of Fire Operations John Esposito, who are among a group of chiefs who asked for demotions amid the turmoil, said sources.
Posted Yesterday by Unknown
FDNY chiefs file lawsuit demanding reinstatement of demoted commanders
By David Propper and Larry Celona – NY Post – 02.28.23
A group of high-ranking FDNY chiefs on Monday filed a lawsuit to halt Commissioner Laura Kavanagh’s decision to demote them and others in what they called a “retaliatory” move.The legal action, filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court, seeks to stop impending demotions expected to go into effect later this week after Kavanagh pulled the trigger on the controversial shake-up earlier this month.
The four chiefs who brought the suit argue the expected and past demotions of top FDNY commanders pose a “grave risk” to the public safety of all New Yorkers.
The plaintiffs include FDNY Assistant Chief of Fire Prevention Joe Jardin, Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Gala, Assistant Chief of Operations Fred Schaaf and Chief of Uniformed Personnel Michael Massucci.
They argue in the legal action they and other chiefs were caught up in a “pattern of abuse of power and retaliation,” by Kavanagh because they questioned her decisions.
Jardin, Gala and Schaaf were all removed from incident command duties on Feb. 3, the lawsuit states. Massucci requested a demotion in a show of unity.
“Kavanagh has, over the course of the last four months, waged a war against FDNY’s most experienced and important operational commanders,” the legal filing argues. “In an effort to punish them for raising concerns about safety policies, and without any regard to the public-safety implications, Respondent Kavanagh reassigned and then demoted (actually or constructively) nine Staff Chiefs, including the two most senior officers.”
Four FDNY chiefs filed a lawsuit to prevent Commissioner Laura Kavanagh’s decision to demote them and others.
The plaintiffs include recently demoted Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Gala.
The legal papers insist that the demotions will leave no staff chiefs with experience as incident commanders for 5-alarm fires, and only a small handful of officials with 4-alarm command experience.
Kavanagh’s moves are “putting firefighters and the entire New York City citizenry they work to protect at grave risk of harm,” the suit argues.
Jim Walden, an attorney for the chiefs, said his clients were among some of the city’s most decorated chiefs who “devoted their lives to the service of public safety.”
“These are some of the same firefighters who put their own lives at risk on September 11 and on countless other occasions to uphold their oath to protect New Yorkers from lethal fires,” Walden continued.
The lawsuit claims Kavanagh’s demotions of high-ranking chiefs poses a “grave risk” to public safety.
“To remove these experienced officials from their essential safety functions puts lives at risk and is simply a gross misjudgment and dereliction of duty by the Commissioner,” said Walden. “We are hopeful that the Court will recognize the urgent public safety interest in this legal action by a united and dedicated group of the City’s public servants, and that their roles will be restored swiftly.”
The FDNY said in a statement it does not comment on pending litigation.
FDNY Brass Denying Chiefs’ Requests for Demotion
as Turmoil Spreads: Sources
By Larry Celona, Joe Marino and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon – NY Post – 3.12.23
FDNY brass is nixing requests for demotions from some veteran chiefs who asked to be knocked down in rank following Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh’s controversial shake-up in the department, sources told The Post on Sunday.
More than a half-dozen assistant and deputy assistant chiefs asked to be returned to field posts in solidarity with three top FDNY officials who were abruptly demoted by Kavanagh last month.
Sources said Kavanaugh is now pushing for a 90-day “cooling off” period in which she is no longer accepting requests for demotions.
Kavanagh and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks are finding it difficult to fill the top ranks as Big Apple firefighters are balking at taking the assistant chiefs test, according to the sources.
FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Ferd Schaaf was one of three top-ranking department chiefs unceremoniously demoted by Commissioner Laura Kavanagh on Feb. 3.
“The problem is nobody wants the job, so they can’t allow these chiefs to leave the current job,” one fire department source said. “They have a real problem — one they created.”
One FDNY veteran, Chief of Uniformed Personnel Michael Massucci, has been relegated to the department’s “tool room” after having his request to go down in rank denied pending the search for his replacement, sources familiar with the situation said.
FDNY reps did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Michael Gala was also demoted.
The turmoil in the ranks of New York’s Bravest was inflamed when Kavanaugh demoted three high-ranking chiefs on Feb. 3 — Assistant Chief of Fire Prevention Joe Jardin, Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Gala, and Assistant Chief of Operations Fred Shchaaf.
The move backfired, with Kavanagh and Banks flooded by a slew of requests for voluntary demotions in solidarity, including from Chief of Department John Hodgens.
FDNY Assistant Chief Joseph Jardin was demoted, resulting in major turmoil within the department.
Last month, the three chiefs involuntarily demoted — Jardin, Gala and Schaaf, along with Massucci, — filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn Supreme Court to overturn the demotions, but a judge dismissed their attempt to block them pending the resolution of the case.
In the midst of the spreading dissent Kavanagh last month appointed Joseph Pfeifer, a retired FDNY hero, to serve as her first deputy commissioner.
According to the sources, eight chiefs who asked for demotions, six of them in writing, have been denied their request, including Massucci. He could not be reached for comment Sunday.
NYC Union Bosses Approve Controversial Plan
to Mandate Medicare Advantage for Retired City Workers
by Cayla Bamberger, Chris Sommerfeldt – NY Daily News – 3.09.23 – UPDATED
New York City’s public sector union bosses signed off Thursday on a highly controversial plan to make a cost-cutting, partially privatized version of Medicare the only health insurance option available for the municipal government’s retired workforce.The stamp of approval from the Municipal Labor Committee, which is made up of reps for all local public sector unions, clears the way for Mayor Adams’ administration to eliminate traditional Medicare as a choice for the city’s roughly 250,000 retired workers.
In its place, the administration will offer a Medicare Advantage Plan managed by private health insurance giant Aetna as the only premium-free coverage available for municipal retirees. The administration has for months maintained the Advantage plan will provide retirees with adequate coverage while saving the city hundreds of millions of dollars per year thanks to increased federal subsidies — and Municipal Labor Committee leaders have sided with that argument.
Retirees protesting the Medicare Advantage situation outside of City Hall in Manhattan, Oct. 12, 2022.
However, support for Advantage was not unanimous during Thursday morning’s vote, which took place in a private virtual meeting, a recording of which the Daily News obtained.
In the meet, 26 of the MLC’s unions voted against the measure, citing concerns from thousands of retirees who fear their access to care would be diminished under an Advantage plan, in part because of pre-authorization protocols required by Aetna for certain medical procedures and medicines. Retirees have also pointed to federal studies that say Advantage plans sometimes delay or deny “medically necessary care.”
The plan still passed, though, because the vote was weighted.
MLC lawyer Harry Greenberg explained in the meeting that each union got one vote for every 250 members. The final tally thereby ended up being 941 in favor and 253 opposed, Greenberg said.
A significant chunk of the yes votes came from the United Federation of Teachers, which is one of the city’s largest unions with nearly 200,000 members.
“The plan is designed to provide high-quality, premium-free health care,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew, a vice MLC chairman, said in a statement after the vote. “We will continue to monitor its implementation to ensure that Aetna meets its obligations to our retirees.”
UFT President Mulgrew speaks during a press conference in 2020 in Manhattan.
More than 100 municipal retirees worried that Advantage will wreck their health care protested the MLC’s move during a rally in lower Manhattan Thursday afternoon.
Denise Rickles, a UFT retiree who worked for three decades as a special education teacher in Manhattan, said she dedicated her career to the city with the understanding that she’d have Medicare in her senior years.
“It’s inhumane how the city lied to us,” she said. “We were promised this, and now they’re going back on their promise.”
A spokesman for Adams did not immediately return a request for comment. In light of the MLC’s thumbs up, the Advantage plan will go through a contract process before it is expected to officially take effect Sept. 1.
Mayor Eric Adams
Among the MLC nay-voters were Oren Barzilay, president of the FDNYunion representing uniformed EMTs, paramedics and fire inspectors.
Speaking to The News before the vote, Barzilay said retired members of his union have been told by Aetna that its Advantage plan doesn’t cover certain medicines to the same degree traditional Medicare does.
He voiced dismay at the way the vote was conducted and said the current structure gives outsize sway to the UFT and DC37, the city’s largest union made up of a number of locals, most of which voted in favor of the Advantage plan.
“It’s pretty much whatever those two unions say that happens,” Barzilay said. “The voting process should change.”
The influential Police Benevolent Association, the NYPD’s largest union, abstained from voting on the Advantage switchover. Still, PBA official Dave Nicholson joined Barzilay in voicing opposition to the structure of the vote.
“PBA is opposed to forcing Medicare-eligible members into the Medicare Advantage Plan,” Nicholson said in the meeting, adding that his union believes “any major modifications of health benefits” for retired or current city workers should not be allowed “without a consensus of all MLC members.”
Thursday’s vote is the latest wrinkle in a long-winded push by the city to shift its retired workers into an Advantage plan.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio first attempted to enroll retirees in an Advantage plan in the fall of 2021. However, that plan was blocked by judges who ruled that a provision in it — which would’ve allowed retirees to stay on traditional Medicare for a monthly fee of $191 — ran afoul of a law that requires the city to provide premium-free health care to its workers for life.
Adams’ administration picked up where de Blasio left off and tried to enroll retirees in a similar Advantage plan with a $191 opt-out option, stressing it could produce $600 million in estimated savings annually. That cash, Adams has argued, could be a critical cushion against projected city budget deficits in coming years.
But courts blocked Adams from enacting the plan, too, after the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees convinced a judge that the same local law that prevented de Blasio’s move should apply to the new administration.
By making Advantage the only health care plan available to retirees, however, Adams’ administration has said it’s complying with the court rulings since there’s no longer a $191 fee on the table.
The NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, a grassroots group made up of retired EMTs, cops, firefighters and other city workers, has said it’s likely to challenge the latest iteration of the plan in court, though, contending it may still violate local laws.
“This is dangerous and unprecedented,” Marianne Pizzitola, a retired EMT who leads the organization, said of the MLC’s Thursday vote. “Labor should never support privatizing public health care.”
Aetna MedicareSM PPO
Plan Information for City of New Yorkretirees!
Pending Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) approval and
ratification, this website is intended to provide you with information
regarding the new Aetna MedicareSM Plan PPO, also known as the
Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO plan, being proposed for September
1, 2023.
All City of New York Medicare eligible retirees and their Medicare
eligible dependents will be transitioned to the Aetna Medicare
Advantage PPO plan, effective September 1, 2023. This includes
current City retirees who are enrolled in the Aetna Medicare
Advantage plan, except those enrolled in the HIP VIP Premier
Medicare Plan.
- Scroll down to learn more about the City of New York Aetna
- Medicare Advantage PPO plan, find providers and get
- information about the plan.
- If you are a current City of New York Aetna Medicare Advantage
- PPO plan member and need information about your existing plan,
- go to the “Login/Register” button on the upper right-hand corner
- and insert your username and password. Or call the number on
- your Aetna member ID card.
- If you are currently enrolled in another Medicare prescription
- drug plan other than the GHI Senior Care prescription drug plan
- and the HIP VIP Premier plan, you will be automatically enrolled
- in the Aetna Medicare Rx offered by SilverScript prescription
- drug plan effective September 1, 2023. You may be eligible to
- purchase the prescription drug rider if you are enrolled in an
- individual prescription drug plan (Part D) in the open market or
- your union welfare fund prescription drug plan has an annual
- maximum benefit. Scroll down to learn more about the
- prescription drug plan, timing of your transition and other
- important information.
Important note
- Please visit this site frequently for updates and additional
- information that will be posted.
City of New York | Aetna Medicare
City of New York | Aetna Medicare
These are the links concerning the new plan.
https://www.aetnamedicare.com/cony/en/index.html
https://www.nyc.gov/site/olr/health/healthhome.page
FDNY Names HQ Auditorium after Former Commissioner
by News Staff 12 – Brooklyn – 2.27.23
Robert O. Lowery in 1966
The FDNY honored the late former commissioner Robert O. Lowery with a special dedication in its headquarters.
Lowery was a trailblazer among members of the FDNY. He was pivotal in social justice and the desegregation of the fire system and known for his bravery and leadership.
The FDNY named the headquarters auditorium after Lowery. He was the first African American commissioner of a major fire department in the United States.
“This room is not simply an auditorium,” said FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanaugh. “It’s where our FDNY family gathers to celebrate accomplishments, as well as to celebrate and learn about our diverse and rich cultures among our members.”
Lowery joined the FDNY in 1941, rising through the ranks as a firefighter and the first African American fire marshal in FDNY history before becoming commissioner in 1956. He worked at diversifying the FDNY during a period of fires that Kavanaugh refers to as the “war years.”
“It’s important to note how difficult that journey was for him,” said Kavanaugh. “When he joined the FDNY, firehouses were still segregated, and he faced open hostility and discrimination as he rose through the ranks.”
Lowery’s daughter, Gertrude Irwin, spoke about when she joined her father in the march on Washington with fellow FDNY members.
HISTORY
Lowery left a job in Harlem as head usher for the Alhambra Theatre for his first civil service appointment. After taking a number of tests, he became a subway conductor for a year in the New York Transit Authority. His next post was with the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). He was appointed as a fireman in 1941 and promoted to fire marshal in 1946, the same year that he won a commendation for arresting a man for 30 acts of arson and burglary.
In 1960, he was cited for capturing an armed arsonist, and the year after became an acting lieutenant in the Bureau of Fire Investigation. During this time, Lowery was an active member of the Vulcan Society and its president from 1946 to 1950, 1953 and 1954, 1957, and from 1959 to 1963.
On November 14, 1963, Lowery was appointed Deputy Fire Commissioner. He addressed the racial issue head on, striving to increase the proportion of blacks and the sensitivity of whites. He also increased the number of black firefighters assigned to black neighborhoods, as well as the number of blacks in leadership roles.
On November 23, 1965, incoming mayor Lindsay announced the appointment of Lowery as Fire Commissioner of the New York City Fire Department. His was the first commissioner level appointment announced by the mayor-elect. Lowery, who was the first African American to be a fire commissioner of a major U.S. city, held that position for more than 7 years until his resignation on September 29, 1973, in order to campaign for then-controller, Abraham D. Beame, the Democratic candidate for mayor.
Lowery died on July 24, 2001, in Manhattan at the age of 85.
THE PROPER WAY TO CALL A GOLFER A BASTARD
A guy was getting ready to tee off on the first hole when a second golfer approached and asked if he could join him. The first said that he usually played alone, but agreed to the twosome.
They were even after the first two holes. The second guy said, “We’re about evenly matched, how about playing for five bucks a hole?”
The first guy said that he wasn’t much for betting but agreed to the terms. The second guy won the remaining sixteen holes with ease. As they were walking off number eighteen, the second guy was busy counting his $80.00. He then confessed that he was the pro at the neighboring course and liked to pick on suckers.
The first fellow revealed that he was the Parish Priest.
The pro was flustered and apologetic, offering to return the money.
The Priest said, “You won fair and square and I was foolish to bet with you. You keep your winnings.”
The pro said, “Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”
The Priest said, “Well, you could come to Mass on Sunday and make a donation of $80. And, if you want to, bring your Mother and Father along, I’ll marry them.”
Rich Miccio
Okane Club Dues And The Booster
Brothers, you don’t have to be reminded of how the the Corona Virus has affected every facet of our lives, as well as businesses small and large. Well, in a sense our club is a business also. Although we have no paid employees, the club depends upon the prompt and timely payment of your dues to pay it’s expenses: mail expenses, all newsletter costs, monthly rental of the American Legion hall etc.. We are looking at the very real prospect of no meetings for the first few months of 2021. Since many of you pay your dues directly to Mike Doyle at the meetings, you may not have that opportunity until things change. You are urged not to forget to pay your dues before the end of January, 2021. You can see Mike’s address near the bottom of this page.
Don’t forget about the Booster. 100% of the revenue from the Booster goes directly to pay for the club’s internet, website and all newsletter related expenses. You can remember anyone for $5 for the entire year. The club is counting on you.
Moving? New Contact Information?
You are reminded that if you have moved, changed your phone number or email address recently, it is your responsibility to notify the club. This is the main reason why members fail to receive the newsletter or club information. It’s easy just – email: okanefdny@verizon.net or call: 727-859-5847.
Please
THE OKANE BOOSTER CLUB
BaalJoe3 Mem Dennis Cross
BaalJoe3 Mem Gary Barbara
BaalJoe3 Mem Billy McGovern
BaalJoe3 Mem Ed Gerhearty
Barry Jim 3 All Of Our 343 Fallen Brothers
Bartolo Ralph2 Mem Malcom Malkasian E285 L142
Bartolo Ralph2 Mem Malcom Malkasian E285 L142
Bartolo Ralph2 Mem all members of 9-11
Bartolo Ralph2 Mem all members of 9-11
Bartolo Ralph3 Mem Tom Earl E285 -L142
Bartolo Ralph3 Mem Malcom Malkazian E285-L142
Bartolo Ralph3 Mem of all who perished on 9-11
Bartolo Ralph3 Mem BC Robert Costa
BasslerBill3 Mem of all 9-11
Calabro Jeff4 Mem my father Edward Calabro R.I.P.
Calabro Jeff4 Mem my father Edward Calabro R.I.P.
Calabro Jeff4 Mem my father Edward Calabro R.I.P.
Calabro Jeff4 Mem my father Edward Calabro R.I.P
Corby Earl3 Members of 343
Deszcz Lenny3 E309, L159
Desccz Lenny3 E290, L 103
Ditta Charile2 Mem Richard Prunty Bn2
Ditta Charile2 Mem BC Ed Wertzel E 231
Ditta Charile2 Mem Fr Seynour Schenker E 231
DittaCharile2 John Braunagle L 48
Ditta Charile2 Mem John B Greehy E3
Falk Artie5 L 24
Falk Artie 5 L24
Falk Artie 5 E1
Holleran Edward3 All Members past & present
Dunscomb Jim3 E 82
Dunscomb Jim5 E82
Dunscomb Jim5 E82
Falk Artie5 L 24
Fey Tom5 Mem Jack Birmingham
Incarnato Charles5 Mem Danny Luizzi E314
Incarnato Charles5 Mem Danny Luizzi E314
Kikis Louis5 Never Forget
Kikis Louis5 E22, L 13
Kikis Louis5 E88, L 38
Kikis Louis5 Jeff Giordano L 3
Linares Lou2 Mem Frank Hughes
Mathieson Jack Leadership Of Okane Div.
Martinsen Ron3 Mem Ed Humburg L126
Martinsen Ron3 Mem Bob Bruce L126
Martinsen Ron3 Mem Barney Forman E303
Martinson Ron3 Mem Tom Burton E332
Martinsen Ron3 Mem Tom Nuccio E332
Martinsen Ron3 Mem Bob Ferry E332
McFey Tom5 Jack Birmingham
McDonald Lorraine3 Mem J. “Don” McDonald L142
McDonald Lorraine3 Mem J. “Don” McDonald L 142
Mckenna Jim2 Mem BC Ron Quartuccio Bn39
McKenna Jim2 Mem Lt. Peter McGreavy L 120
McKenna Jim Mem Lt Patrick Maune E332
McKenna Jim2 Mem BC Joseph Brocco Bn44
McKenna Jim2 Mem Fr Sonny Caruso E94
McKenna Jim2 Mem Fr Thomas Slevin Bn3
McKenna Jim2 Mem Fr Manny Pena L48
McKenna Jim2 Mem Fr Michael Gilvary L7
McKenna Jim3 BC Donald Quartuccio Bn 39
McKenna Jim3 Lt Peter McGreavy L120
McKenna Jim3 Lt Patrick Maune E332
McKenna Jim3 BC Joseph Brocco Bn44
McKenna Jim3 Fr Sonny Caruso E94
McKenna Jim3 Fr Jim Slevin Bn3
McKenna Jim3 Fr Manuel Pena L48
McKenna Jim3 Capt. Robert J. Majeski L175, E293
McVeigh Tom3 Mem Jack Birmingham
Murphy John3 Mem BC John O’Regan
Murphy John3 Mem Larry Fitzpatrick L26
Murphy John3 Mem Capt. Patty Brown L3
Murphy John3 Mem Lt. Robert Nagle
Nilsson Mike3 E 303, L 126, 343
Nilsson Mike3 E 303, L 126, 343
Nilsson Mike3 E 303, L 126, 343
Nilsson Mike3 E 303, L 126, 343
Pascucci Anthony2 Mario Pascucci E 58
Pascucci Anthony2 Mario Cassini E 75
Pascucci Anthony2 Michael Reilly E 75
Pasquale John5 FF John Casey Pasquale L 107
Pasquale John5 FF John H. Carmichael L 7
Pasquale John5 BC William H Carmichael Bn 35
Pasquale John5 10/16/66 55-598 L 7
Pasquale John5 9-11-01 Sq 252
Pasquale John5 FF John Casey Pasquale L107
Pasquale John5 FF John H. Carmichael L7
Pasquale John5 BC William H. Carmichael Bn35
Pasquale John5 10/16/66 55-598 L7
Pasquale John5 9-11-01 Sq 252
Quartuccio Ron2 Batt 39, L103, E 290
Quartuccio Ron2 Batt 39, L103, E 290
Quartuccio Ron2 Batt 39, L103, E290
Reina Tony2 Mem Tom McDevit
Reina Tony2 Fr terry Cullen L138
Reina Tony2 Mem Fr Bob Stermer
Reina Tony2 Mem Fr Ed Richter
Savarese Jim2 Mem Ron Quartuccio
Savarese Jim The Tin House Gang E232, L 176
Tarantino Ron2 Mem lou Tarantino
Tarantino Ron2 Mem Det Sgt. James Van Valen
Tarantino Ron3 Mem Lou Tarantino
Tarantino Ron3 Mem Det Sgt James Van Valen
Tarantino Ron3 Mem Nick Barone
Waligovska Richard2 E229 R2 L40 Sq1 L175 BN6 The best job in the world
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS FROM THE ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED PEOPLE
AARP- American Association of Retired People
>>>> Questions and Answers from
>>>> AARP Forum
>>>>
>>>> Q: Where
>>>> can single men over the age of 70 find younger women who are interested in them?
>>>>
>>>>TRY a bookstore, under Fiction.
>>>>
>>>> Q: What
>>>> can a man do while his wife is going
>>>> through menopause?
>>>>
>>>> A: Keep
>>>> busy. If you’re handy with tools, you can
>>>> finish the basement. When you’re done, you will have a place to live.
>>>>
>>>> Q: Someone
>>>> has told me that menopause is
>>>> mentioned in the bible.. Is that true?
>>>> Where can it be
>>>> found?
>>>>
>>>> A: Yes.
>>>> Matthew 14:92:
>>>> “And Mary rode
>>>> Joseph’s ass all the way to Egypt
>>>>
>>>> ….”
>>>>
>>>> Q: How
>>>> can you increase the heart rate of your
>>>> over-70 year-old husband?
>>>>
>>>> A: Tell
>>>> him you’re
>>>> pregnant.
>>>>
>>>> Q: How
>>>> can you avoid that terrible curse of the
>>>> elderly wrinkles?
>>>>
>>>> A: Take
>>>> off your
>>>> glasses
>>>>
>>>> Q: Seriously!
>>>> What can I do for these crow’s feet
>>>> and all those wrinkles on my face?
>>>>
>>>> A: Go
>>>> braless. It will usually pull them out..
>>>>
>>>> Q: Why
>>>> should 70-plus year old people use valet
>>>> parking?
>>>>
>>>> A: Valets
>>>> don’t forget where they park your car.
>>>>
>>>> Q: Is
>>>> it common for 70-plus year olds to have
>>>> problems with short term memory storage?
>>>>
>>>> A: Storing
>>>> memory is not a problem. Retrieving it
>>>> is the problem.
>>>>
>>>> Q: As
>>>> people age, do they sleep more soundly?
>>>>
>>>> A: Yes,
>>>> but usually in the
>>>> afternoon.
>>>>
>>>> Q: Where
>>>> should 70-plus year olds look for eye
>>>> glasses?
>>>>
>>>> A: On
>>>> their foreheads.
>>>>
>>>> Q: What
>>>> is the most common remark made by 70-plus-year-olds when they enter antique stores?
>>>>
>>>> A: “Gosh,
>>>> I remember
>>>> these!”
>>>>
>>>> SMILE,
>>>>
>>>> You’ve still got your sense of humor,
>>>>
>>>> haven’t you?
Who is it, What is it, where is it ?
you will get the answer at the bottom of this page.
ANTHONY CURTACHIO 4-13
RONALD W. MARTINSEN 4-30
EUGENE G. MURAWSKI 4-1
RICHARD RESTO 4-17
ARTHUR TAYLOR 4-1
It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold.
The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm.
This way they covered and Protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded
their closest companions.
After a while, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die,
alone and frozen.
So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their Companions or disappear from the Earth.
Wisely, they decided to go back to being together.
They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions
in order to receive the heat that came from the others.
This way they were able to survive.
The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but when each individual
learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person’s good qualities.
The moral of the story is:
Just learn to live with the Pricks in your life
The Porcupine Fable
It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold.
The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm.
This way they covered and Protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded
their closest companions.
After a while, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die,
alone and frozen.
So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their Companions or disappear from the Earth.
Wisely, they decided to go back to being together.
They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions
in order to receive the heat that came from the others.
This way they were able to survive.
The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but when each individual
learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person’s good qualities.
The moral of the story is:
Just learn to live with the Pricks in your life
Reply Reply All Forward
Invitation To Submit Stories
Brothers,
This is your invitation to submit articles, jokes, stories of interest even personal stories for publication in YOUR NEWSLETTER. This is your newsletter. Help me make make it more interesting.
Jim Barry
NYPD Cop Follows in 9/11 Hero Dad’s Footsteps, Joins Elite Unit
By Larry Celona and Stephanie Pagones – NY Post – 3.10.23
A New York City cop is following in the footsteps of his father – a hero who died on 9/11 – by joining the NYPD’s elite Emergency Service Unit.
Joe Vigiano celebrated his ESU graduation Friday after joining the NYPD six years ago and is now assigned to Brooklyn’s Emergency Truck 7 — where his beloved father also spent his first years.
“His smile would have brightened up the whole room today,” Kathy Vigiano, a retired cop and Joe’s mom, told The Post of her late husband Joseph, whose firefighter brother John also perished in the terror attacks.
“I am proud, because Joe is a good cop, he was the top of his class in emergency-service school,” the mom said of her son. “But I am worried because of his new assignment, handling the most dangerous jobs in the Police Department.
Joe Vigiano, whose father died on 9/11, is with his son at his ESU graduation Friday.
“However, I do have some comfort knowing he is working with such experienced officers who also worked with my husband.”
Joe Vigiano told The Post on Friday, “I’m looking forward to working in the best unit in the NYPD and learning from the experienced officers in ESU.”
His father was assigned to ESU’s Truck 2 on Sept. 11, 2001, when he was killed while trying to rescue those trapped inside the World Trade Center complex. The dad’s FDNY brother John also perished in the horror.
Joseph Vigiano and his widow, Kathy, met while working in the NYPD’s 75th Precinct in Brooklyn.
Their son was 8 years old when his father died
Shortly before the terror attacks, Joseph Vigiano had his son made an ESU-style shirt with Truck 7’s numerals touchingly emblazoned on the collar.
Joe Vigiano is now also a staff sergeant in the US Marine Corps. Reserves and fought in Afghanistan.
Joe Vigiano, whose father Joseph Vigiano died on 9/11, is pictured with his family at his Emergency Services Unit graduation at Floyd Bennett Field on March 10, 2023.
Photos from the Friday’s ceremony, which was held at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, show Joe Vigiano grinning with his family and holding his own baby boy, named Joseph Vincent Vigiano II.
Also in attendance were the newly minted ESU member’s mom Kathy, his brothers – James, a fellow NYPD cop, and John, a college student – and their grandmother, Jan, whose husband John Vigiano, was a hero Fire Officer.
NYPD Cops Resigning in New Year at Record-Breaking Pace — With a 117% Jump from 2021
By D Balsamini, Joe Marino, C McCarthy and S Vago – NY Post – 3.10.23
It’s ’23 skidoo.
New York City cops are resigning at a record-breaking pace this year as the NYPD’s alarming exodus continues, according to new data obtained by The Post.
“The NYPD staffing emergency is approaching the point of no return,” said Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch.
The shocking stats show 239 officers tapped out in January and February, a 36% spike from the 176 who fled in the same period last year and a disturbing 117% jump from the 110 in 2021, NYPD pension data show.
That’s the highest number of resignations for the first two months of a year since 250 members quit in 2007 during a contentious contract dispute.
“The NYPD needs to be rebuilt from the ground up — it’s unfixable in its current state,” a veteran Manhattan cop told The Post.
In January and February, 239 officers stepped down, a 36% spike from the 176 who fled in the same period last year.
“It’s not just politics and poor pay,” the officer said.
“Precinct cops are being forced to work an inhumane amount of overtime, including on their days off, while being penalized for minor uniform and administrative infractions.
“Meanwhile, precincts barely have enough personnel to meet the minimum required to safely answer 911 calls.”
Some officers are so disgusted that the carrot of an NYPD pension isn’t even enough to keep them in.
NYPD resignations have skyrocketed in 2023.
At the current rate, 1,400 cops are projected to resign this year before qualifying for retirement — even more than last year’s record 1,297 early exits.
Incredibly, 21 cops walked away from the job in just a two-day period — Feb. 20 and 21 — to join the MTA, police sources said.
The Manhattan cop said the department simply “doesn’t know how to manage personnel.
“Hundreds of cops are being hidden under fake assignments or assigned to headquarters sitting at a desk all day and are considered ‘untouchable’ for patrol or enforcement duty because they have high-ranking supervisors protecting them,” he seethed.
Eric Adams has focused his efforts in putting more cops in the subway to prevent crime.
New York City’s Finest are also bailing because of what they consider anti-cop politics, woke bail reform policies that make criminal justice a revolving door and low wages.
“We are losing cops to better pay and benefits in other policing jobs almost every day,” said Lynch, who reps 22,000 uniformed officers.
The exodus began after Minnesota cop Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd on May 25, 2020, triggering nationwide protests and calls to defund the police.
“The allure and luster of the NYPD is gone for now. They need to restore that,” said Spero Georgedakis, 52, a former Miami SWAT team officer who helps recruit and relocate New York City cops to Florida departments.
Georgedakis, who grew up in Queens wanting to be a member of New York’s Finest, runs ads to coax cops to the Sunshine State.
“We had four or five New York City police officers reach out to us last week,” he said. “They saw the spots, and we gave them [salary] quotes.”
The NYPD exodus began after the protests following George Floyd’s murder.
Georgedakis said “the standard story” he gets from NYPD cops is that “the job is impossible to do.”
Alexandre Tilan was a cop in the 72nd Precinct in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, before he decided to leave in May for the St. Petersburg Police Department in Florida.
The 29-year-old had just six years on the force, nowhere near the 22-year threshold to qualify for a full pension.
“I’m not surprised at all,” he said of the current exodus.
As a Florida cop, Tilan said, he has “lower stress, higher pay, better support.
“I’ve had a few [NYPD pals] reach out to me asking how to start the process,” he said.
The NYPD saw 3,701 cops retire or resign in 2022, the most since 3,846 cops departed in 2002, after the 9/11 attacks.
In addition to the hordes resigning so far this year, the NYPD has already seen 262 cops retire over the first two months of 2023, a 3% uptick from the 255 for the same period last year and a 7% increase from the 245 who retired in January and February 2021.
The NYPD’s 33,822 uniformed cops are already 1,208 below the budgeted headcount, documents show, and 2,467 cops short of the 36,289 roster at the start of 2020.
The stunning numbers were no surprise to a police source who told The Post about a cop who suddenly quit last week with no job lined up.
Critical response times for the week of Feb. 20, 2023 were up in 2023 compared to a week in December 2020.
“We are having problems keeping and hiring cops,” the source said.
“I don’t see Suffolk and Nassau [County cops] losing vacation days like we do. More money, less BS. I can’t blame them for leaving.”
Diane Spencer, a mental health therapist in Brooklyn who lives in Hempstead, Long Island, said she understands why cops are leaving the city as crime increases and pay remains low.
“Police work in New York City is more cons than pros.” the 55-year-old expert said.
“They feel it’s safer out of state or moving to Connecticut. Crime out there is different. The pay is different. Here you have to start so low.”
As a result, almost every precinct in New York City is understaffed, police sources said, and it’s showing up in response time data.
In the week of Dec. 30, 2020, critical response times were seven minutes and 14 seconds — compared to eight minutes and 17 seconds for the week of Feb. 20, 2023, according to city data.
NYPD data shows every crime category except for murders and shootings is up over the past two years.
“At this rate, keeping everyone safe will be an Herculean task,” said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan.
“The only people that are happy are the cop haters, activists and defunders.”
Pat Lynch believes the NYPD is approaching the point of no return.
Police science professor Maria Haberfeld, also of John Jay, said high cop attribution also makes it harder to enact needed reforms.
“When you lose manpower, the first things that go are all these novel ideas of corrective and preventive policing,” she said, which can also help rebuild the fledging trust between the police and the public.
Haberfeld said her students who are cops often complain about forced overtime, which she called a “horrible” idea.
“Forced overtime can be effective only for a limited period of time before people just start collapsing mentally and physically. You cannot just keep people in forced overtime forever,” she said.
PBA head honcho Lynch warned that “the city needs to focus on resolving our contract and providing competitive pay, better benefits and better quality of life for its police officers.
“If that doesn’t happen very, very soon, we won’t have a police department left,” he said.
The NYPD did not respond to a Post request for comment Friday.
But City Hall rep Fabien Levy said in a statement, “As the mayor has said since Day One, public safety is this administration’s top priority, and because of the NYPD’s dedicated workforce and precision policing practices, crime continues to decline with shootings, hate crimes, and major crimes all being down last month.
“And we have done all that despite a labor shortage that has affected almost every sector nationwide, including government and law enforcement, more specifically.
“New Yorkers can rest assured that, under Commissioner Sewell’s leadership, the NYPD remains fully prepared to keep New Yorkers safe and respond to all emergencies. The department continues to aggressively recruit the finest officers in the world to serve the greatest city in the world.”
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