Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill this week that allows the Yonkers Fire Department to tap into a controversial fund used for a variety of department expenses.
The fire union and Democrats in the state Legislature pushed for the law after the union stopped spending the cash when Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found the spending flouted state law.
Fire departments and unions around the state receive from the foreign fire insurance tax program, including in Yonkers, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo. The money, estimated at $60 million annually, is a two-percent tax levy on home-insurance policies from out of state. It's distributed annually to fire departments, fire districts, local firefighter unions and the state Firemen's Association