New York City Fire Department

Here’s an unwelcome birthday gift for Rudy Giuliani, as he travels around the city raising money: protests from fire fighters and family members of September 11th victims.

They've shown up in the past at Giuliani's presidential events. Today, they’re gathering in Bay Ridge, and they have plans to follow him nationwide starting sometime around January, according to Jim Riches, a deputy chief with the fire department whose son was killed in the World Trade Center attacks.

“We have all the UFA, the UFOA, and the fire members are all behind us -- the International Association of Fire Fighters,” said Riches. “And we’re going to be out there today to let everybody know that he’s not the hero that he says he is.”

The group’s complaints center on the faulty radios used by the fire department that day and what they say was a lack of coordination at Ground Zero.

And Riches disputes the notion that Giuliani provided any form of leadership on September 11 or in the days following.

“If somebody can tell me what he did on 9/11 that was so good, I’d love to hear it. All he did was give information on the TV”

“He did nothing,” Riches continued. “He stood there with a TV reporter and told everyone what was going on. And he got it from everybody else down at the site.”

Rudy Giuliani is gently pushing back against the notion that he's not loved by fire fighters. Giuliani's campaign just sent out a letter from a retired fire fighter, which says:

"There is no one who respects firefighters and first responders more than Rudy Giuliani."

It's in response to a draft letter a national fire fighters union drafted, which urged their colleagues to say "hell no" to Giuliani's presidential campaign.

The debate among people who are supposed to be Giuliani's biggest supporters -- fire fighters and first responders -- has a swift boat quality to it.  read more »

The letter Giuliani's people sent out is after the jump.

-- Azi Paybarah

A reader familiar with City Hall's lobbying efforts in Albany notes the flipside of the new hires at the mayor's legislative affairs office in the state capital , which is that a number of seasoned veterans have moved on. This number includes the man who headed the office for eight years, Skip Piscitelli, who is now in the city working for the FDNY commissioner.

The most significant common trait if the new staffers, despite my earlier assertion, isn't that the legislative experience they have, but the experience they have working directly for the mayor.

Also, for the first time, they'll have their own press office, which should help churn out some informative stories about what's happening in Albany when everything changes.

-- Azi Paybarah

A nightmare week for the Upper East Side continues. NY1 reports that there's been an enormous fire at Coach president Reed Krakoff's new $17 million home.

Earlier this year, Michael Calderone wrote:

When Mr. Krakoff purchased his new 30-foot-wide townhouse on East 70th Street, between Park and Lexington avenues--the same tony block that director Woody Allen now calls home--it was reported that the fashion executive would have about $2.5 million in renovations in front of him.

After it took 140 firemen to put out the main blaze, the FDNY said: the fire "appears suspicious."

UPDATE: WCBS-TV is reporting that authorities are suspicious because (a) the fire "began at around 2:30 in the morning" and (b) the townhouse "was not occupied; it was in the process of being renovated." - Max Abelson

The New York City Fire Department has released its annual fundraising campaign, the 2007 "FDNY Calendar of Heroes." It features pictures of hot, shirtless firefighters, and is photographed by Cary Hazlegrove, who lives not in New York but on Nantucket Island.

According to blogger Andy Towle, among those photographed in the calendar is Tom Westman. Mr. Westman was the winner of Survivor: Palau. He lives in Sayville, New York—about halfway out on Long Island. He left Williamsburg's Ladder 108 a year ago this week.  read more »

Last The Transom saw Mr. Westman, in July of 2005, he was on the Long Island Rail Road, heading into the City not to save lives—necessarily!—but for a meeting with NBC.

FRANCESCA: The rooftop bar of Hotel Gansevoort was exquisite - sunset, cool breeze, bp everywhere. Among them: my New York posse of girlfriends - out to celebrate and lament the imminent end to my single life. But after a couple of rounds of bellinis and passionfruit cocktails, it was time to move on. Alas, the elevator down was off limits due to an unexplained fire alarm. The choices were: either remain on the roof poolside with bellinis and the man in green who kept taking photos of us... or clatter down how many flights of stairs in heels? We chose the stairs. Clickety-clack. With lights and sirens, the FDNY heralded our arrival on the streets!  read more »

Saturday, a congressional candidates forum will be held for the 10th and 11th districts followed by a march protesting development in Downtown Brooklyn beginning at P.S. 261.

Anthony Weiner flips the ceremonial coin toss at start of the 34th annual "Fun City Bowl" football game between the NYPD and FDNY at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.

John McCain headlines a fundraiser for John Sweeney in Saratoga Springs.

On Sunday, the Queens Jewish Community Council will celebrate its 37th anniversary, honoring Melinda Katz and Barry Grodenchik in Fresh Meadows.

On Monday, The Foundation Center hosts a forum on sustaining community based health organizations with Brooklyn Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham.

—Nicole Brydson

Last Sunday sixty people were evacuated from a couple of buildings at 345 and 347 West 16th Street because of a fire. And then, after the FDNY extinguished the blaze, they discovered that sections of the buildings were crumbling. Now the tenants have to wait till the building's shored up before they can move back in. (What about the pets?!)

Now residents are telling the local news that the landlord--Benedict Properties of Great Neck, N.Y., according to PropertyShark--hasn't been providing adequate heat nor hot water. Most tenants won't even speak on the record, fearing retribution from the landlord.

According to PropertyShark, there are literally hundreds of building violations for these two properties. Granted, some of them date to 1977, but recent ones include failure to provide hot water, faulty smoke detectors and fire escapes, and "vermin mice" and "vermin roaches."

Ah, Chelsea! Good to know you're not totally going yuppie.  read more »

(Via BlogChelsea, CBS 2)

-Matthew Grace

The high-end auction-house business is considered among the more genteel of professions.  read more »

New York City residents use about 1.3 billion gallons of water a day, and most of us have no idea th  read more »

With the Fire Department of New York once again under fire for its lack of minority firefighters-the  read more »

That new anti-terrorist face- (or is it fingerprint?) recognition technology in use at airports migh  read more »

Last week in this space, retired firefighter John Finucane put forward a proposal for a separate mem  read more »

The idea has been circulating, quietly, for several months now, and soon it's likely to find its way  read more »

The Fire Department's memorial ceremony at Madison Square Garden on Oct.  read more »

In a small room at Fire Department headquarters in downtown Brooklyn, the floor plan of Madison Squa  read more »

As a newly promoted officer in the Fire Department of New York, Lieutenant Bob Bohack moved around a  read more »

Chief Peter Hayden brought me to the roof of the three-story firehouse that serves as quarters for L  read more »

Maybe there is another watchword for the present moment besides "Let's roll," and that is "Watch out  read more »

There's a small plaque outside the pharmacy at 6East 23rd Street. It is a modest affair, barely  read more »

There's a small plaque outside the pharmacy at 6 East 23rd Street.  read more »