By: Kayley McNoor

As New York City enters its new fiscal year with a $112 billion budget agreement freshly inked, a critical component of its emergency response system stands in alarming disrepair. According to a recent investigation spotlighted by The New York Post, the FDNY’s firehouses—some over a century old—are not just outdated but actively endangering the lives of the very firefighters they house.

The Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA) has sounded a five-alarm warning, releasing a list of 23 firehouses with deteriorating roofs that require $81 million in immediate repair funding. The facilities, many of which date back to the early 20th century, suffer from decaying walls, toxic mold, crumbling foundations, and, in some cases, structural conditions that union officials say could lead to catastrophic collapse.

“We might be the greatest Fire Department in the world, but it’s based on pure grit and determination,” said UFA Vice President Bobby Eustace, speaking to The New York Post. “We’ve been fiscally abused for decades.”

The UFA’s findings come amid delicate negotiations between Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council over the city’s FY2025 budget. Although the tentative deal allocates $2.6 billion to the FDNY, that figure still falls $1 billion short of what council members had originally requested—funds meant largely for capital repairs and essential equipment upgrades.

Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens), chair of the Council’s Committee on Fire and Emergency Management, was unequivocal in her assessment after touring several of the most compromised firehouses.

“There is a cruel irony to the fact that the brave men and women we ask to save New Yorkers from buildings that are about to collapse are being forced to work out of dilapidated and unsafe buildings that in some cases are about to collapse themselves,” Ariola told The Post. “The FDNY is facing a facilities crisis that is impacting everything they do, from fire prevention to inspections to training.”

Of the 23 buildings flagged for immediate roof repair, ten are located in Queens—home to some of the most severe infrastructure deficiencies. The FDNY training site at Fort Totten Park, built in 1906, alone requires $15 million in repairs. EMS Station 45 in Woodside, constructed in 1961, needs $8 million, while Engine Co. 264 in Far Rockaway—now 112 years old—has an estimated $5 million in structural liabilities.

Photos obtained by The Post from inside Squad 288’s station house in Maspeth present a sobering picture: walls streaked with mold, cracked floors, sewage backup, and exposed asbestos. Perhaps most shocking is the apparatus room—where fire trucks are parked and equipment stored—which firefighters claim is at risk of collapsing. According to Eustace, firefighters paid out-of-pocket to pour new cement into the garage floor after discovering gaping holes leading to the basement. Repairs are scheduled to begin in the fall.

In the Bronx, the crisis is equally acute. The Post reviewed video footage and photographs from Engine Co. 96 that show a developing sinkhole on the roof, adjacent to a broken vent. Inside the 59-year-old building, firefighters contend with leaky windows, sagging ceilings, mold, and asbestos exposure. The union estimates this station alone requires $2.2 million in repairs.

Altogether, the UFA estimates that the FDNY’s 219 firehouses and 37 EMS stations need hundreds of millions in capital investment. And while the administration touts historic investments in public safety, firefighters and council members remain skeptical.

FDNY spokesperson Amanda Farinacci assured the public that the department is working closely with City Hall to prioritize critical repairs. “The safety of the brave men and women who serve New Yorkers every day is our No. 1 priority,” she said. “We are working to make needed repairs at facilities throughout the department, and there is no threat to our members’ safety.”

Zachary Nosanchuk, a spokesperson for Mayor Adams, echoed this sentiment, insisting that the new budget includes $940 million specifically for “facility improvements and construction”—a figure that The Post noted is among the highest such allocations in FDNY history.

Yet union leaders counter that the need far exceeds the commitment. “This is not about a wish list,” Eustace said. “This is about roofs caving in. It’s about asbestos in our lungs. It’s about time delays when every second counts.”

Firehouse deterioration is more than an internal staffing or morale issue; it has real-world consequences for emergency response. Unsafe or inoperable buildings force companies to relocate, slowing down response times in the very neighborhoods that most depend on rapid deployment.

The FDNY’s operational excellence has long been a source of civic pride. But without a sustained capital investment plan, critics fear the department’s readiness and morale will erode.

As The New York Post editorial board warned in a recent op-ed, “Neglecting the buildings that house our first responders is not just fiscal irresponsibility—it’s a gamble with public safety.”

The fate of New York City’s firehouses is now tethered to political will. The Adams administration has touted “historic” investment figures, while the City Council urges more aggressive capital commitments. But as photographs of sinkholes and sewage backups circulate, and as firefighters spend from their own wallets to prevent injuries, the question looms: Will the city answer the bell before the alarm becomes a tragedy?

In the words of UFA’s Bobby Eustace, “You can’t fight fires with broken ceilings and cracked floors. You can’t protect this city if you’re fighting from inside a building that’s about to fall down.”