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Mostly Cloudy Cuomo vetoes Brady Bill
Cites technicality, but might reconsider approval if language is modified
“Saddened,” “upset” and “disappointed” were among the many dispirited words people used to describe Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to veto a bill that would have ended the five-year battle to inscribe the name of a fallen Malverne firefighter on a memorial wall in Albany.
“I can’t for the life of me understand why he would want to do something like that,” Malverne Mayor Patricia McDonald recently told the Herald. Neither could countless others who had known and worked with Paul Brady, a volunteer firefighter who died while on duty in the Malverne fire house in July 2006. They had fought to get Brady’s name engraved on the New York State Fallen Firefighters Memorial wall and were denied five times by its selection committee, even though state and federal law designated Brady’s death line of duty; his name is inscribed in the U.S. Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Maryland.
“It makes no sense to Paul’s friends, family, brother firefighters or thousands of supporters that Paul is being robbed of this honor … he clearly deserves,” the Malverne Fire Department, which filed a lawsuit against the selection committee in September 2010, said in a statement. “What began as an attempt to honor Paul’s service and ultimate sacrifice on a wall created for just such a tragedy has now turned into a prejudiced argument and a legal battle as well. This is not only a disgrace to Paul’s memory, but a waste of time … It is a disgrace that this injustice has dragged on so long.”
Bill sponsor Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) explained that the governor’s veto was based on a technicality — something that could be corrected with a simple language tweak. The bill demands that the names of all volunteer firefighters who die in the line of duty be inscribed in the wall, but Cuomo was concerned that the word “volunteer” would create inconsistent memorial wall eligibility criteria. Once the sponsors amend the bill to include any and all firefighters who die in the line of duty, there’s a greater chance Cuomo will sign it into law, according to the assemblyman.
