FDNY executives file lawsuit seeking reinstatement of demoted commanders

A group of senior FDNY executives filed a lawsuit on Monday to stop Commissioner Laura Kavanagh’s decision to demote them and others, in what they called a “retaliatory move.”

The lawsuit, filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court, aims to stop pending demotions expected to take effect later this week after Kavanagh pulled the trigger on a controversial reshuffle earlier this month.

The four chiefs who filed the lawsuit allege pending and past demotions of top FDNY commanders pose a “serious risk” to the public safety of all New Yorkers.

The plaintiffs include FDNY Assistant Chief of Fire Joe Jardine, Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Gala, Assistant Chief of Operations Fred Schaaf, and uniformed Chief of Staff Michael Massucci.

They claim that in the lawsuit, they and other chiefs were found guilty of “abuse of power and retaliation” by Kavanagh because they questioned her decisions.

Jardin, Gala and Schaaf were removed from incident management duties on Feb. 3, the lawsuit says. Massucci demanded a demotion as a sign of unity.

“Kavanagh has waged war for the past four months against the most experienced and important operational commanders of the FDNY,” the legal document states. “In an effort to punish them for raising concerns about security policy, and without any consideration of the public safety implications, Defendant Kavanagh reassigned and then demoted (actually or constructively) nine Chiefs of Staff, including the two most senior officers “.

The legal documents insist that demotions will not leave chiefs of staff with experience as 5-alert emergency commanders, leaving only a handful of officials with 4-alert command experience.

Kavanagh’s actions “put firefighters and all New Yorkers at serious risk of harm,” the lawsuit says.

Jim Walden, an attorney for the chiefs, said his clients included some of the city’s most decorated chiefs who “dedicated their lives to the service of public safety.”

“These are some of the firefighters who risked their lives on 9/11 and on countless other occasions to keep their oath to protect New Yorkers from deadly fires,” Walden continued.

“Removing these seasoned officials from their primary security functions endangers lives and is simply a blunder and dereliction of duty on the part of the Commissioner,” Walden said. “We hope the court recognizes the strong interest of public safety in this lawsuit by a close-knit and dedicated group of city public servants, and that their roles will be quickly reinstated.”

The FDNY did not respond to an email asking for comment Monday evening.