Council hearing debates plan to split EMS from FDNY as sponsors call for pay parity

Council members and FDNY leaders clashed at a joint hearing of the New York City Council committees on Governmental Operations and Civil Service and Labor over Intro 5-21, a proposal to establish a standalone Department of Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

Sponsors led by Council Member Justin Brannan said the measure responds to long‑standing pay disparities and retention problems that leave EMS understaffed. "We simply cannot have second class first responders in this city," Brannan said, arguing that EMS workers — many of them women and people of color — are paid significantly less than firefighters and often need multiple jobs to make ends meet.

The bill’s lead opponents included FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker, who told the committee he shares the sponsors’ goals but that separating EMS from FDNY would be "misguided." Tucker said a new agency would duplicate legal,…