I write in response and strong disagreement to the letter printed in last week’s issue by certain “concerned taxpayers,” objecting to the construction of a modern facility to house the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department Ambulance Unit on Cumberland Avenue.

My son joined the Ambulance Unit in 2004, at age 17, later joining Engine/Rescue Company #3 in 2008. He has been a member of the Ambulance Unit for 18 years, of Company #3 for 14 years, and served as Lieutenant and Captain of Company #3 from 2015 – 2021.

I have spent significant time at the Prospect Street firehouse and have seen firsthand the conditions that the Ambulance Unit and Company 3 work under while sharing the space meant for one company.

The MLFD Ambulance unit has been based out of 25 Prospect Street since 1988. Their ambulances are already based out of a residential neighborhood – so the real questions here are which neighborhood should they be based on?

And more importantly, what conditions should the volunteers who sacrifice dozens of hours or more per month endure while performing their duties to protect the community?

The ambulance unit has needed its own quarters for many years; we are lucky that the current board of commissioners has treated the situation with the appropriate urgency, and I am thankful for [state Assemblywoman] Gina Sillitti’s help in securing significant funding for the project.

The concerns raised about traffic are speculative at best. Neither MLFD ambulances nor fire apparatus contribute significantly to traffic congestion in Thomaston, where they are currently based.

I have lived a few blocks away from the Prospect Street firehouse since 2014, and while there is often traffic on South Middle Neck Road, ambulances are not the cause of it.

The MLFD Ambulance Unit responds to 2-3 calls per day, which is negligible compared to the hundreds of cars that already use Pond Hill Road and Cumberland Avenue as a cut-through from Community Drive to Lakeville Road.

Ambulance drivers go through extensive safety training, and do not activate their sirens until they reach Northern Boulevard, to avoid causing disruption to residents in the neighborhood. These practices would continue in the new building.

Originally, members slept at home and responded to calls on an as-needed basis, but as the years have gone by, the community has come to rely more heavily on them, and call volumes have increased.

The volunteers of MLFD have responded by instituting standby shifts, where members rotate staying overnight at the firehouse one night per week to ensure staffing during overnight hours. However, the Prospect St firehouse was not designed to house two companies of firefighters and EMTs.

Currently, female firefighters and EMTs sleep on cots and inflatable mattresses in a repurposed conference room, male EMTs sleep on cots in the meeting room, 4 male firefighters sleep in a bunk room downstairs, while the remaining male firefighters sleep on couches or chairs downstairs.

Neither was the Prospect Street firehouse designed to hold 2 companies’ worth of apparatus. The apparatus bay, originally designed to hold 2 fire engines and one heavy rescue, now holds 2 ambulances, 2 fire engines, and one heavy rescue, leaving almost no room for firefighters and EMTS to store and get dressed into their turnout gear, making movement on the truck room floor difficult and/or dangerous.

The ambulance unit first response vehicle must be left outside, as there is no room for it in the apparatus bay.

Regarding the concerns over the financial burden, the District commissioners have made clear that existing fire/water tax revenue is sufficient to cover ongoing bond payments, but not sufficient to pay for construction all at once.

The entire point of the bond issue is to spread the cost out over time and minimize the burden on taxpayers – just as we take mortgages to buy our homes.

Concerns raised about “why not modify an existing property” reflect the objectants’ lack of engagement with the fire district throughout the process – the proposed Ambulance headquarters will be built on existing Water District property, to minimize the expense to District taxpayers, and to decrease response times across the district by stationing the ambulances in a central location with easy access to both North Shore-Manhasset and Long Island Jewish hospitals.

It seems to me that the objections raised about traffic, financing, and the pre-construction process are cover for a general “not-in-my-backyard” attitude – people want to enjoy the high quality of service provided by the M-LFD without contributing to its well-being.

In addition to the “residential enclave” of Spinney Hill, the MLFD ambulance unit covers 10 square miles of other enclaves with 44,000 residents, and at least twice as many occupants in the many commercial properties during the day.

The space-sharing arrangement put in place in 1988 was intended as a temporary solution at the time, and 35 years later, it’s long past time to provide a permanent home to the men and women who help us in times of dire need.

I have seen firsthand the diligence and professionalism of the Ambulance Unit many times as they have responded to care for me, my neighbors, my partner, and my mother on numerous occasions.

I’m sure many of our friends and neighbors have as well. Indeed, I’ve been grateful to have them stationed so close – when they are called, they have often arrived at my door in five minutes or less.

We can all sleep easier at night knowing that the MLFD Ambulance Unit is willing to get up at any hour and give their time to ensure our health, safety, and well-being. It’s time for us, the residents who enjoy that protection, to do our part for them, and vote yes on Oct 10.

Nina K. Gordon
Great Neck