Firestorm over lady 'commish' (FDNY)

[Blue_Tires]

If Mylan Denerstein becomes the FDNY's new commissioner, the first blazes she'll have to put out will likely involve sexism and racism -- over her own appointment.

The 42-year-old former federal prosecutor is on the short list to be named the city's next fire commissioner -- leading to the possibility she would be both the first woman and first African-American to hold the job.

Some department insiders worried that there may be old-boy elements who would have trouble accepting a woman in charge of the FDNY, where only 33 out of 11,300 firefighters are female.

Others said her race also could be an issue on a force where only 3 percent of its members are black and that is now fighting a class-action, racial-discrimination lawsuit.

Still others would resent that yet another nonfirefighter was in charge, after seven years of rule by Nicholas Scoppetta, who, like Denerstein, is a lawyer.


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/firestorm_over_lady_commish_dVia9j3m6qNJwJA6eSGEpJ#ixzz0ZfZiMAQE

[Number23]

1. This kind of crap annoys me.

"Others said her race also could be an issue on a force where only 3 percent of its members are black and that is now fighting a class-action, racial-discrimination lawsuit."

Why does the race of the force matter?? If the woman is qualified and wants the job, what difference does it make that the majority of the force is not black?? The cricitism of her not being a firefighter would seem to hold more weight and it really doesn't considering the last person for the job was not one either.

If black people "waited" until we were the majority before we ever took a leadership position anywhere, we'd only be leaders of the NAACP. But with all the drama between black and white firefighters in NY lately, I hope this can be resolved.