NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — From heroes during the coronavirus crisis to zeros.
Back in the dark days of the city's COVID outbreak, EMTs responded to as many as 6,500 calls a day.
Four EMTs died of COVID and three took their own lives.
Now, the head of the FDNY's EMS union says they are facing as many as 400 layoffs as the mayor grapples with the economic crisis from the shut down.
"Yesterday, we were praised as heroes, essential workers saving lives. Today, the city government treats us like zeros," said Oren Barzilay, president of FDMY EMS Local 2507. "New Yorkers who lived through this deadly pandemic know otherwise."
Barzilay fears more lives will be lost during a second wave as they suffer longer wait times for an ambulance.
"Even with the threat of a second wave of COVID-19 looming and two recent outbreaks in Brooklyn, Bill de Blasio and his team at City Hall wants to balance the city's budget on our backs, eliminating some 400 emergency medical responder positions and placing every New Yorker's life at risk," Barzilay said in a statement.
Barzilay also raised concerns about a recent spike in gun violence across the city.
"The crimes in New York City are through the roof, we have 40 to 50 people shot every weekend, who's going to pick up all these people? I don't understand, where is the logic in this?" Barzilay said in an interview with WCBS 880's Marla Diamond.
A city hall spokesperson praised the work of the EMTs, but added that without a federal stimulus or borrowing authority from Albany, and no city agency will be spared.
Mayor de Blasio said he will work with the unions to help find alternatives.
"They have other ways to saving money we want to hear them because we're looking for every way to avert layoffs, but what we can't do is act like we have money when we don't have it," de Blasio said.
Last week, Bill de Blasio said that New York City is looking at the very real possibility of having to lay off more than 20,000 municipal employees in the fall.
The threat of layoffs surfaced in June during budget talks and the clock is now ticking as options are running out.
The city is projecting a two-year revenue loss of $9.6 billion and the mayor said the potential for 22,000 layoffs is a “painfully real” possibility.