FDNY ‘Boys Club’ Protects Sexual Harassers, Lawsuit Alleges
Another day another lawsuit alleging that the Fire Department of New York has a serious problem with how it treats women. And look, Im tired of writing these stories. Genuinely exhausted by them. But here we are again because institutions keep failing the people who work for them. A female paramedic is suing the city claiming the FDNYs “boys club” culture let supervisors harass her for years while punishing HER for speaking up about it. Classic stuff really.
Ive been covering stories like this for long enough now to recognize a pattern when I see one. And the pattern at FDNY is… not great. Not great at all actually. This isnt even the first harassment lawsuit theyve settled recently – not by a long shot. Remember when Jersey Shore star Angelina Pivarnick got $350,000 after alleging similar treatment as an EMT? Same department. Same problems. Same excuses. You start to wonder if anything ever actually changes or if these settlements are just the cost of doing business.
What the Lawsuit Actually Claims
According to court documents – and this is where it gets really ugly – the plaintiff says male supervisors started harassing her almost immediately when she began working at a Manhattan firehouse back in 2014. Were talking unsolicited nude photos sent to her phone, constant requests for dates that she clearly wasnt interested in, comments about her body, the whole disgusting package that unfortunately sounds all too familiar to anyone whos followed MeToo cases.
She complained to the department. Multiple times. Through multiple channels. You know what happened? The harassers got a slap on the wrist – maybe a stern talking to, maybe a transfer to a different location – and she got put on worse assignments. Thats the trade apparently. You report harassment and your reward is being treated like the problem.
When she reported one supervisor to the EEO office for literally taking a picture of her chest – at work, on shift, like some kind of predator who doesnt even try to hide it – five other women also came forward with complaints about the same guy. Five! And still nothing meaningful happened to him. Instead SHE got put on “vacation relief” – basically the crappy dangerous assignments nobody wants because youre filling in wherever theyre short-staffed.
The lawsuit describes an environment where women who report harassment get labeled troublemakers while the men doing the harassing face zero real consequences. Where complaints go into black holes and the only thing that changes is the complainer’s work life getting worse. Its like every workplace harassment cliche rolled into one except this is a city agency paid for by taxpayer dollars. Our dollars. Going to protect harassers and punish victims.
The Bigger Picture Here
FDNY has faced accusations of systemic issues for years now. Theres been lawsuits about racism, about hazing rituals that border on assault, about a culture that protects its own at the expense of anyone who doesnt fit the mold. And look I have massive respect for firefighters and first responders – they do genuinely heroic work that most of us would never have the courage to do. Running into burning buildings while everyone else runs out. Pulling people from car wrecks. Responding to medical emergencies. Thats real hero stuff.
But that doesnt mean we ignore when institutions fail the people working in them. Being a hero at your job doesnt give you a pass to be a predator. It doesnt entitle you to make your coworkers lives miserable because theyre women or minorities or just dont fit into whatever clubhouse culture youve built up over generations.
The department always says they take these allegations seriously. Every single time. The statements practically write themselves at this point. But when the same problems keep popping up decade after decade, when settlement after settlement gets paid out while nothing fundamentally changes, maybe its time for something more than statements. Maybe its time for actual accountability that doesnt just punish the people brave enough to speak up.
