Sure, people complained when St. Vincent's Hospital closed. But now that the Fire Department wants to keep ambulances on a lot at 512 West 23rd Street, residents of fancy High Line condos are upset. One fumed at a community board meeting, "We have nieces and nephews that come to visit, and it was a nice day and they had problems going outside on the terrace because of the fumes."
In addition to the idling ambulances, residents also complain about the sirens from the ambulances, but the FDNY wants to extends it lease to provide much-needed services. According to DNAinfo, David Harney, chief of staff for the Deputy Fire Commissioner, said at the meeting, "My first quality-of-life issue is life itself. Not having a facility on the West Side of Manhattan is detrimental to our operations. Right now, the landlord could evict us with 30 days notice." While the FDNY is looking for a permanent site, but in the meantime, Harney would like to stay in the current lot for the interim, "The Fire Department could not wait three years to identify, go through a land-use review, design, and build a permanent facility to service this critical area."
One resident paying $3,500/month for a one-bedroom at 520 West 23rd Street said, "My apartment gets filled with exhaust at 7 a.m. in the morning. It gets filled with exhaust at 11 at night. I don't think anyone's questioning the necessity of having ambulance service on the West Side of Manhattan, but the fact of the matter is this station is surrounded by five residential buildings." While the FDNY is trying to work on the idling issue, another resident said, "They better be looking somewhere else, because this ain't forever." Know what else ain't forever? LIFE.
