Yonkers Fire Commissioner Robert F. Sweeney.
BREAKING NEWS EXCLUSIVE
YONKERS, NY — February 24, 2021 — 12:17PM — Yonkers Tribune has learned that Yonkers Fire Commissioner Robert F. Sweeney will resign. The reality is that he was fired.
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YONKERS FIRE COMMISSIONER ROBERT SWEENEY TO RESIGN FROM DEPARTMENT
Mayor Spano to Appoint Fire Chief John Folkerts as Interim Commissioner
YONKERS, NY – February 24, 2021 – 12:50pm — Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano today announced Yonkers Fire Commissioner Robert Sweeney submitted a letter of resignation from his position, effective March 10, 2021. Sweeney has served as Commissioner for eight years under the Spano Administration.
“Bob has served the Yonkers Fire Department with professionalism and honor; and has demonstrated respect for the job, our firefighters and for the city in which he serves,” said Mayor Spano. “I want to thank Bob for his dedication and leadership during his career with Yonkers. Bob has been an exceptional fire commissioner for us and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”
Mayor Spano will be appointing Fire Chief John Folkerts as Interim Commissioner.
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SOURCE: Christina Gilmartin | Communications Director | Office of the Mayor
Comments 44
To the poster, “the comment section here never disappoints. Always find a handful of anonymous cowards here running their mouths…”
I notice you forgot to leave your name on your post.
It didn’t sound like he was running his mouth. Nothing to back up with a name drop.
I am not familiar enough with neither the operations or politics of the YFD to fairly comment on this story. However, I will say, that if it’s true that Foelkerts is not up to the challenge, or has a drinking problem, or whatever else, no one should be surprised that the Mayor chose him. I’ve always felt that once this administration succeeded in robbing this third term for themselves, all bets were off. These last four years will be a blatant and unabashed free for all of hires, promotions, and raises for family and friends, and for those who are politically connected. Morale across the City is in the toilet. Running YFD, YPD, DPW and all the other departments professionally and efficiently is absolutely the last thing on their minds. The Spano family of locusts is just about done with Yonkers. They will stuff their pockets on the way out the door, and never look back.
The comment section on here never disappoints. Always find yourself a handful of anonymous cowards here running their mouths.
Amen. Ain’t that the truth
Who else comes to Yonkers Tribune for the comments? The commentary here is better than any Housewives franchise lOl.
Make OEM deputy director Bobby Kitson the new fire commissioner!
Give it a break the morons who work in the Office of OEM including the jewelry salesman, couldn’t find the ham in the refrigerator.
YFD members! Do not engage anyone & refrain from commenting on these sites. Vent elsewhere. Jealousy is an ugly trait. The names mentioned thus far have served & will serve for a reason: they’re qualified. If you don’t have the necessary qualifications to attain their level of success, whining about it here isn’t the way to go about making up for your deficiencies.
Commissioner Sweeney was a very good leader for the YFD. Coming from NYC with endless manpower, he learned very early on the dedication, bravery and efficiency of the Yonkers Firefighters extinguishing FIRE in single family structures all the way up to 100 Unit Pre War (WW II) constructed buildings with half The manpower of a NYC FIRE response. For 8 years he maneuvered very well from being a Mayoral appointee City Manager to understanding the Unions concerns and benefits received to accomplish extinguishment with way less manpower. Commissioner Sweeney kept the City of Yonkers safe for 8 years. Therefore, he professionally did his job without the endless inner city maneuvering of past Commissioners. I know, I saw it.
You think you saw it, you blind puppet. This joke of a man was the biggest waste of 250k and a vehicle this city has ever seen.
He did absolutely nothing of any value, he didn’t change or implement anything that exists today. So, what did you see? He kept the city safe? Are you f*cking kidding everyone puppet boy.
Sweeney is and always will be the most disgraceful person to hold the position, unless ‘chief’ Folkerts gets his crack.
So, what you’re saying and what everyone else sees, is that you’re just an angry little child who failed the FD exam and now your lashing out because you know you don’t have the tes…le fortitude to bravery join in Firefighting operations.
If you saw anything it must have been the graying hairs on his ass. You must be one of those $300,000 plus Ass kissing for overtime whores. Sweeney was a boob and a drunk with no management skills or care in the world for Yonkers or the Yonkers Firefighters. His job was to collect a paycheck and do whatever Steve Levy told him to do. No more no less.
Ditto on above reply
He resigned, Pete Joyce and the bushwacker probie resigned too.
Who becomes the interim to the interim when john goes to the farm?
You figure by Christmas the latest he’ll get drunk and beat up another child around the holidays, again.
This should be interesting. Spano knows that Folkerts is unstable and a ticking time bomb. Something must be up.
Even designating Folkerts as interim Commissioner shows Mike Spano doesn’t have a clue. The YFD doesn’t need a drunk idiot at the top it needs a disciplined and educated leader and manager something it hasn’t had for many years under Spano. The unions will have a field day beating this clown back with sick leave and massive overtime expenditures.
This Mayor is on the path of destruction
Did he crash his City SUV? Again?
Why leave that to the council majority leader Pineda issacs
Word on the street is that Sweeney packed his personal items into a shopping back and immediately vacated his office as soon as he was told he was “resigning” as of March 10. The Interim Commissioner is not even in town for the next week and therefore another Chief was designated “acting” “interim” Commissioner until the Interim Commissioner returned from his booze cruise. Only in Yonkers, only in Yonkers.
BS was tossed out by his first wife while he was a FDNY Chief and he was found sleeping on the couch in his office at FDNY operations and coming on to the civilian female staff. He was a laughing stock among the civilian professionals. Even his firefighter career is suspect. Yes, he served in L-111 (the Nuthouse) but briefly and his true time in the field was less than a real career ghetto FDNY firefighter. Sadly, like others, they gained from 9/11 and the loss of what would have been the next leadership generation.
Nice try on the character asassination. BS is the real deal, hardcore “ghetto” FF all the way
Sweeney knew nothing about management, leadership or personnel. He was just a boob from FDNY who passed (probably cheated on) a few promotional exams. A person’s “title” or “rank” is no indication of their competency or appropriateness for a job. At least this time he won’t come back.
Baloney; don’t be jealous
A lawsuit too late, is PJ next?
Respect for the job and firefighters? ok
The pension padding retired chiefs are circling the carcass hoping to get some more cold cash. Tommy, Mark and Kevin all manipulated their overtime hours to pad their pensions big time and now want to come back double dipping like Sweeney did for years. The 3 of them together don’t have a brain or a spine and are despised by the members even more than Sweeney was. They know the drunkard won’t last a month as Commissioner without a major relapse and embarrassing blow up. This will make body slam Darcy’s tenure look successful. Making the popcorn and dimming the lights. This drama should be comical and tragic at the same time
youre a jealous asshole a LOSER
I don’t know the answer, perhaps a reader does. In the meantime, you may prefer to begin yur effort with the school you child attends. They must surely have an answer to you question.
AAll the best to you. Kindly, Hezi
Fathorts has been to the alcohol detox “farm” 3 times in the last 5 years. A perfect pick from the Park Hill drunkards to replace cocaine Sweeney Bob.
To the idiot who suggested to go to a volunteer fire department.You sir have no idea what you are suggesting.Lives and property would be lost ten fold. Hopefully its not yours .Youre probabky a vollie yourself.
The drunkard was an incompetent boob in NYC and in Yonkers. His departure is being celebrated by all in the YFD. It’s a shame Mayor Spano ever lured him to Yonkers in the first place. He did nothing of value or noteworthy during his entire tenure.
We need to have a volunteer firefighter system like they have up county and a private garbage collection which costs about $35 a month. We would save an absolute fortune. Why aren’t our republican representatives bringing up these initiatives? Oops they are RINO’s, I get it.
Yeah sure whatever you say ….And should Yonkers defund the police department too? They can replace them with non profit mental health counselors, and drug addiction experts. Hey, you can save very big if that were the case on top of that $35 a month garbage collection. Anyway, find a city with a population of 200K that has a volunteer fire department
The Fire Dept and the DPW would just be for starters, then on to the BOE with security guards making $70,000 per year and then on to YPD which are also heavily bloated.
Again we just need proper management, which we never have because all of our Mayor’s and Politico’s have no balls and are continually bullied by the union goons.
Explain how come our republican councilors are looking to do deals with unions in development projects. You know things are not quite right when you see that.
The Axeman Cometh.
Was he really fired? Does anyone know what happened?
Yes, he was fired! — Kindly, Hezi
He was a carpetbagger from FDNY and only stepped foot in Yonkers while he was being paid. Good riddance to him.
he didn’t resign, he was fired.
They are all Drunks.
That’s great. Replacing a former fall down drunk with a current fall down drunk.
What’s wrong with a fall down drunk.
Don’t discriminate, just because the best part of your day is when you wake up isn’t my fault!