Posted on 01/07/2013 5:05:03 AM PST by Altura Ct.
Nearly 300 who didn't score high enough on entrance exams in 1999 and 2002 will take test again. Many Bravest outraged by judge's decision, which could catapult novices ahead of veterans on job
They coulda' been contenders — and now they have a second chance.
Nearly 300 black and Latino firefighter candidates who didn’t score high enough to join the FDNY in 1999 and 2002 are getting a rare opportunity take their entrance exams again.
They’ll sit for the FDNY written exam Friday, and an intense physical fitness test will follow later.
If they can rack up passing grades on both, the job with generous pension, sick pay and other benefits could be within their grasp.
The break is part of a controversial ruling from Brooklyn Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who in July found the FDNY guilty of discrimination after a group of black firefighters and the Vulcan Society successfully challenged the methodology of its entrance exams.
Garaufis ordered the city to pay $187 million in damages.
He also found that 186 blacks and 107 Latinos who took the ’99 and ’02 tests might have made the grade had the process been different, and compelled the city to find as many of them as possible and give them another shot regardless of age — even those over 40. Usually the FDNY won’t allow anyone older than 29 to sit for an exam, with an exception for those in the military.
Many of the Bravest were outraged by the decision, which could catapult these latter-day candidates ahead of firefighters already on the job.
“Seniority was earned in the dead of night when these benefactors were home sleeping,” Firefighter Matthew Bland, a nine-year veteran, said at a fiery court hearing in October when rank-and-file aired their views with Garaufis.
“I am concerned for the future of my department,” said Chief Nicholas Corrado, the highest-ranking FDNY officer to testify. “Standards must remain high.”
But the candidates who dreamed of firefighting 15 years ago aren’t letting a little heat slow them down.
“I’m not worried about anything but passing those tests,” said Jose Ortiz, 40. “This slipped through my fingers before, but it won’t happen again. The rest will work itself out.” gotis@nydailynews.com Latisha Davis: Not looking for special favors
“I took the test in 1999. I was on public assistance and through the WEP program got placed in the FDNY’s recruiting department. The women firefighters really encouraged me to go for it, especially Brenda Berkman. She told me what a great job it is. I was helping the department recruit women to the job, so I thought, ‘Why not me?’ I missed the cutoff by five points. I was so disappointed.
“When I got a package in the mail saying I could try again I was like, ‘Holy cow!’ I figured it was a longshot but I thought you know, I’m getting a second chance, so why not go for it. When I was younger I was worried about the written test and not the physical; now it’s the other way around! But I’m not looking for special favors. I’m here to prove myself. ” Rohan Holt: Opportunity like hitting the lottery
“My score when I took the test in 1999 was an 88, so I passed. But I was told that if you don’t get at least a 90, don’t waste your time. I never got a call back. I was upset about it, but you have to move on. I went to transit and became a bus driver. I thought about it a few times, you know, what if . . .
“I found out I could take the test again when the Vulcans sent me an email. It’s like I won the lottery, in a way — I get a second chance to take better care of my kids, to do more for my family. I was a bus driver for the MTA and just got laid off, so I really need this now. I’m taking it real seriously. I’ve lost 15 pounds and I work out a lot. I’m worried I’m too old for the physical, but this is something I’ve always wanted, so I’ve got to try.” Jose Ortiz: 'Had to fight back tears'
“I was so excited to take the exam in 1999 — it was always my dream to be a firefighter, or a cop. I never heard back from the FDNY. After about three years I moved to New Jersey, but I’d call my mom in the Bronx and say, ‘Did anything come?’ It was always no. I was always hoping, but I had to find work so I got into real estate. I have a lot of friends who are cops and firefighters and it was hard for me . . . I always felt the pull.
“When I got a letter from the Department of Justice telling me I could try again I had to fight back my tears. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to get my hopes up but I decided that I’d make sure I’d do everything possible to pass this written test and then get through the physical. I’m going in like a warrior.” Rich Santos: Single dad vows to give it 100 percent
“I got all the way through in 2002. I passed the written, I passed the physical, but when it came time to do all the checks they found I didn’t have the 30 college credits the FDNY wants. I was upset — it was just one roadblock that stopped me from such a good career.
“I got a phone call out of the blue last year from the DOJ and when I learned about this I was so thrilled. I’m a single dad and I just got laid off. I was like, ‘Wow, this is my shot.’ I’ve been in the gym since I heard and I’m doing nothing but prepping for the written and the physical. I’m going to be 100% for both. Not leaving anything to chance.” Malcolm Flythe: Eating right to be sure he's ready
“I passed the test in 2002 but I didn’t score high enough to get called up and my list ran out. I’d worked really hard at it and it was really my dream to be a firefighter — it’s a great job, and it’s something that will let you build a family, have a good life.
“I was ecstatic when I got a notice in the mail about trying again. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance and nothing is more important to me. I’m working out all the time and I’ve changed what I eat completely. Salads and lean protein, nothing fried. This time I want everything to go right.”
No mention of fat, stupid gays! What about them?
New Test:
1)Is your skin color white? If no, go to 3.
2) You have failed the test, turn in your papers.
3)Can you breathe?
4)You have passed the test with a score of 100.
Fairness and justice are far more important than safety.
The Village Voice ran a story a couple years back on some of the more obvious questions on FDNY exam. I’m sure they aren’t all this easy, but seriously...if you’re not making the grade with some of these thrown in, I’m not sure you should be trusted with a library card, much less fighting fires.
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2010/12/the_10_most_idi.php
Also, I found a generic practice test for firefighters to get a feel for some of the questions one might see on the FDNY test. Some of these are maybe a little picky, but a whole lot of them make a whole lot of sense to me. If you’ve got a candidate - Latino, black, white, or Martian - who doesn’t understand the dynamics of flame spread, or doesn’t know the proper procedure for dealing with a gas leak - then maybe those folks ought not to be hired.
http://tests.com/practice/Firefighter-Practice-Test
I know some obama suckers who were pissed off when he appointed Sotomayor to the SC over this exact case. Of course they’re still obama suckers.
This is why we need reparations. Yes, I mean us.
I am waiting on the shorter white guys to file a class action lawsuit against the NBA. Their standards are even more egregious because they are discriminating on height which is something you are born to be (like being homosexual). Because of their discriminatory height requirements there is a woeful representation of smart, talented white players who can shoot and dribble. Many white men are deprived of the opportunity to make millions upon millions for dribbling.
Honestly, I wish all conservatives would boycott professional sports. Let ‘em survive on the tickets of the liberals.
New Test
Which group of traits are most important for belonging to the FDNY:
a) honesty, integrity and kindness
b) bravery, quick reflexes and clear thinking
c) flashing gang signs in dope new FDNY gear for pics on Facebook, gettin wit dat shorty with a 40 and hittin up da homies on your Obamaphome
d) strenth, speed and endurance
you answered "C" which is correct.
Congradulations you are hired!!!
Between the growing number of thug 'players', the dickwad uber-PC announcers who venerate them, and commercials every 45 seconds, pro sports no longer get any air time here.
And for those just now coming out of the cave, the REAL Super Bowl is tonight at 8:30, and the REAL World Series takes place every August, just up the road in Williamsport.
To be perfectly honest. New York Fire Department has been lucky this hasn’t happened before.
Other big city Fire Departments faced this years ago and were decimated by it.
Washington DC being one of those.
The Fire Chief there is abominable.A joke who is a close friend of the Mayor and calls Eleonor Holmes Norton —Aunt.
He faced charges in Sarasota and is now facing them in DC.
But he is the right flavor.
Everyone knows tests are a racist plot to keep “underrepresented populations” from success.
Perhaps Brooklyn Judge Nicholas Garaufis will just ban tests outright and then everything will be grand. The city may burn down due to incompetence but, hey, we’ll feel real good about ourselves, right?
Can the stupid Caucasians take the test again too?
187 mil is chimp change in the grand scheme of reparations...too bad these folks seemed to be too ignorant to pass the test...
Christmas week BET or One-TV channel replayed both the original Roots week miniseries played in 1977 (slavery and just after Civil war) and the later Roots 2 miniseries (takes it up to Alex Halley' life) played in 1979 of which I watched both when they first were aired.
I watched just the second one this time.
There was lots of stories about trying to work and study hard to make it through school to just be treated equal(I mean you couldnt help feel sympathetic), they left out the part about sueing to make the tests easier so they can pass.
But guess what? They really were huge!
In those days one had to be at least five foot ten to even consider taking the police exam-at least until it was found that tall cops were actually being discriminatory because they were so.....tall. A few years later the height requirement was dropped mainly because it was said to prevent many women and Hispanics from the job.
So we went from a police department with literal giants to what we have today when there are actually cops under five feet tall that look as though my sister could jack their weapons off them-and forget about them when it comes to a punch-out with criminals-it's no contest!
What about the Whites, Asians, Arabs, Jews or Hot Icelandic Females who failed?
Affirmative Action = Hire the stupid
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