(HorizonPost.com) – The family of a former New York City firefighter who died last month is struggling to make ends meet after he was fired late last year when the city was forced to free up funding to deal with the crush of migrants from the southern border.
Former FDNY firefighter Derek Floyd suffered a heart attack on April 15 and passed away just months after New York let him go as part of its broader effort to reduce city workers to pay for services for the migrants that began arriving in New York in 2022.
Floyd was among the 10 FDNY employees who had been on modified duty either for getting injured on the job or due to extended sick leave and were let go just weeks before the Christmas holiday.
A former Marine who served several tours in the Middle East, Floyd had been working a desk job with the FDNY in the office of the department chaplain helping to arrange funeral services for fallen firefighters. Floyd had been placed on modified duty after suffering a heart attack in 2019 while attending the Fire Academy.
At the time of his termination, Floyd had been trying to get medical clearance to return to active duty.
According to his widow Cristine, Floyd had been with the FDNY nearly long enough to qualify for additional family medical benefits as well as death benefits worth over $600,000 when he was fired in December. As a result, his death left the family with nothing despite his years with the FDNY.
Cristine believes that the stress of losing his job took its toll on her husband and while he tried to remain positive, the concern over being let go was “constantly” on his mind.
Faced with the overwhelming expense of providing for the tens of thousands of migrants coming to New York, in November, City Hall proposed slashing the budgets of various city departments including the FDNY.
The city planned to cut the FDNY budget by $74 million by the end of next year. To that end, staff on long-term modified duty faced the chopping block. It is unclear how many will ultimately get cut. However, at any given time, the FDNY has between 800-1,000 individuals on modified duty.
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