Updated 01/17/2009 10:25 PM
City Starts Closing Four Firehouses Overnight
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The city's controversial plan to close four firehouses in four boroughs overnight took effect Saturday evening.
Every borough but Queens will be affected by the overnight closures. Ladder 53 in the Bronx, Engine 4 in Lower Manhattan, Engine 161 on Staten Island and Engine 271 in Brooklyn are all scheduled to close from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m.
The move is expected to save the fire department nearly $9 million a year.
At a City Council hearing Friday, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta defended the closings, saying the department needs to cut costs.
But some council members say the cost to the affected neighborhoods is too great and risky.
The FDNY has also cancelled the next class of probationary firefighters and is eliminating some civilian jobs to save money.