By Brendan Scott and Sally Goldenberg
The New York Post
ALBANY, N.Y. — Saying it’s the FDNY’s job to “serve and protect, not serve and collect,” state Sen. Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn) introduced legislation yesterday to block the Mayor Bloomberg-backed “crash” tax.
The proposed bill would make it illegal for the Fire Department to impose an “accident-response service fee” of $365 to $490 for sending emergency-service personnel to the scene of an accident.
The FDNY has pitched the fee as part of a plan to cut $58 million in costs from its $1.4 billion annual budget.
“It’s outrageous,” said Kruger. “That’s why we’re taxpayers. When we dial 911, we don’t expect to get another bill in the mail. It’s not budgeting. It’s a money grab.”
Legislation in other states has already banned similar fees. Kruger’s bill, however, could face opposition in the Senate, where the Republican majority strongly supports Bloomberg.
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