Standing just a few blocks from the World Trade Center site, Governor Andrew Cuomo addressed a roomful of hundreds of firefighters Thursday, praising them for their bravery and citing the heroism of those who rushed toward the burning towers.
"They knew exactly where they were going, and they kept going," Cuomo said.
Cuomo, too, got a hero’s welcome, thanks in part to legislation he signed into law giving newer city firefighters disabled on the job retirement benefits equal to three-quarters of their pay, in line with the benefit for veteran firefighters and those elsewhere in the state. The benefit was reduced in 2009 as a cost-saving measure.
"You're going to put your life on the line, then the people of this state should be behind you, God forbid something happens. And that’s what this disability bill was all about," Cuomo said.
The new legislation, which affects 2,300 firefighters hired since 2009, brings to a close one chapter in Cuomo’s feud with Mayor Bill de Blasio, who initially resisted restoring the full benefit. Cuomo sided firmly against him, rallying with fire unions on the Capitol steps.
"There is no justification to you being relegated to a second tier of benefits," Cuomo said.