One of Slutman’s most
notable acts of heroism
came in the very early
hours of Tuesday, July 23,
2013 when he successfully
rescued a woman who was
trapped inside her bedroom
in a 7th fl oor unit at
320 Morris Avenue in Mott
Haven.
“Something is burning
on the seventh fl oor,”
was the only heads up he
received prior to valiantly
crawling beneath thick
black smoke and fl ames to
make the incredible rescue.
Slutman was joined by
Mayor de Blasio when was
awarded the Fire Chiefs Association
Memorial Medal
the following year on behalf
of his bravery for the daring
Mott Haven rescue.
When de Blasio attended
the evening session of Slutman’s
wake, the mayor
spoke with Shannon, telling
her what a hero her husband
truly was for not only
the city but country as well.
The elevated section of
the Bruckner Expressway
was shut down the following
morning for Slutman’s funeral
procession into Manhattan.
NYPD motorcycles
rolled through the empty
highway one by one, preceding
the mass of FDNY and
Port Authority vehicles and
trucks that had all made
the journey with Slutman’s
remains.
A week prior to that,
Slutman’s colleague Lieutenant
Jack Meara refl ected
on what it was like to be
around Slutman during an
operation.
“He was the type of fi reman
everyone wanted to
have in their fi rehouse,”
Meara said. “Chris always
did the right thing, Chris always
stepped up to the plate,
Chris was always there
when you needed him.”
It was on that same day
that The Stephen Siller
Tunnel To Towers Foundation
pledged to raise funds
to pay off the Slutman family’s
home mortgage.
In that same amount of
time, the FDNY also established
a scholarship fund
for Slutman’s three daughters.
Community rallies against substance treatment center
and others that they do
not plan to dispense medicine,
starting a counseling
program would be a fi rst
step towards full-blown
drug treatment in what is
mostly a low-density residential
community, community
members believe.
After Andrea Corson,
a partner in Miracle City,
provided details about the
operation at a Community
Board 10 Health and Human
Services Committee
meeting on Tuesday, April
23, about 65 residents rallied
outside the proposed
location on Saturday,
April 27 in a show of unity
against the plan.
Edgido Sementilli, a local
activist, claims that
there are already 45 similar
programs in the borough
and the “the placement
of the drug program
at (the) location is just not
right.”
Residents living near
the site had an opportunity
to express their opposition
to the Miracle City venture
during the boisterous rally
- chanting “Throggs Neck
Strong – we won’t have it.”
Attendee Anibal
Vazquez said he was concerned
for students attending
These Our Treasures,
M.S. 101 and P.S. 304.
“We are concerned
about the safety of the
teachers and the students
when they walk around
the area,” said Vazquez,
noting that children frequently
walk to and from
school.
Vazquez said that based
on his understanding, an
822 program allows a provider
the “ability to start
with counseling and then
hire a nurse and start dispensing
methadone and
other substances for those
seeking treatment.”
He said he is not against
helping people who have issues
with substance abuse,
but that the Bruckner Boulevard
location isn’t right
for this type of facility.
“When I fi rst moved
into the area in 1988 that
building wasn’t there; it
was a gas station,” said
Vazquez. “For that building
to go from being a gas
station to a building serving
addicts in an area with
single-family homes just
doesn’t make sense.”
Another resident who is
a staunch opponent of the
plan, Deborah Teska, has
a close family member addicted
to drugs, and said
she very concerned that
the program’s clients will
congregate in the area,
like the Montefi ore Hospital
run methadone clinic
on Waters Place,, driving
down property values and
creating safety concerns.
“It upsets me…that you
own a home and you have
to lose your investment
and move,” said Teska.
Teska added: “It is not
right. You cannot plop
this in a residential area
where you have (several)
schools.”
She believes that a campus
setting is more appropriate,
and believes putting
substance abusers in
a location alongside a highway
will bring drug dealers
to the community to
sell their wares.
Corson, a resident of
Mount Kisco, pointed out
at the CB 10 committee
meeting, that a similar
program in her neighborhood
did not have an impact
on the community,
but she did not provide any
documentation to support
her opinion.
Miracle City’s chief
compliance offi cer, said
that there are two kinds
of 822 programs, and the
type they are applying for
the counseling component
only.
“Not now or anytime
in the future will we be
seeking a license to dispense
or store medication,”
she said, adding
that misinformation is
circulating throughout
the community.
The 822 program is
slated to occupy 25 percent
of the property’s entire
leasable space.
Senator Alessandra
Biaggi has not publically
stated her opinion on the
matter but a recent inquiry
into her silence was
responded to by a staffer
who said the proposed location
was removed from
the population, indicating
support for the program.
Miracle City would
serve a boroughwide clientele
and because it is a
Medicaid eligible provider
cannot refuse anyone service.
Mary Jane Musano,
Waterbury LaSalle Community
Association president,
acknowledged the
opioid crisis, but said that
an appropriate setting
needs to be found for programming.
“The (rally) crowd was
adamant that they do not
want this,” she said.
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MEMBER:
from Page 1
from Page 1
A cross-section of residents protested on Saturday, April 27 against Miracle City’s plan for a substance
abuse counseling program inside of 2800 Bruckner Boulevard. Photo by Fernando Justiniano
FDNY and USMC
hero laid to rest
Firefi ghters were stationed at Jerome Avenue and East 174th Street
waiting by the Cross Bronx Expressway for fallen Marine FDNY fi refi
ghter Slutman to return home. Photo by Aracelis Batista
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