FDNY Chief Laura Kavanagh wants to “improve” the behavior of her department’s mostly male officers, but she’s not sure how to douse the flames of their discontent.
Kavanagh, who has clashed with many of her male subordinates since being appointed New York City’s first female fire chief in 2022, made the candid admission, apologizing to New York Attorney General Letitia James in a text message exchange on March 8. The day before, pro-Donald Trump firefighters mercilessly booed Kavanagh, a Democrat, at a fire department promotion ceremony.
“I should have called last night but I was trying to find a way to say I’m sorry without apologizing for people who don’t deserve these benefits,” Kavanagh said in a text message, according to records obtained by The Washington Post from the attorney general’s office under the Freedom of Information Act.
“I was not successful. I regret that I could not stop them and that I could not fix them.”
“I wouldn’t be here without you,” Kavanagh, who began his career as a public servant working on the campaign trail for former President Barack Obama and other Democrats, told his longtime political ally.
The fire chief also thanked James for showing him that “if you want to make a big difference, part of the job is dealing with bullying, threats and loads of booing with grace.”
“So thank you. I care about you and I would always do anything for you,” she added.
James thanked Kavanagh for his kind words but acknowledged that he had never been booed during his 20 years in elected office, which included stints as New York City’s public defender and Brooklyn’s city councilwoman.
“These guys are new to the police department and don’t know my background on Fdny,” James texted. “We have a job to do and I’m going to put in the time. BTW this is the first time I’ve ever been booed.”
In a May 10 text message exchange with another New York City Fire Department official, whose name was withheld, James said he regretted agreeing to speak at a ceremony three days earlier at the Starrett City Christian Cultural Center Brooklyn campus.
“very sorry [the] “This has taken away people who have been promoted and their families,” James said. “We’ve taken their temperatures. [the] “I was away from the department. I need to repair my relationship with my team members.”
James initially planned to hold the Bible while her friend, the Rev. Pamela Holmes, was sworn in as the ministry’s second female pastor and the first Black woman to hold that title.
But Kavanagh texted the attorney general two days before the ceremony, persuading her to attend as a guest speaker as well.
James was booed loudly as she made her way to the podium during the event, which quickly turned into pro-Trump chants as she continued speaking.
Kavanagh returned to the Christian Cultural Center on March 11 to tell church members she was sorry James had been booed, but only after she sent a copy of her prepared remarks to the attorney general and got the go-ahead to proceed.
“I will send them over to see if there is anything that makes you uncomfortable,” Kavanagh texted on March 10.
The heckling came just weeks after James’ office won a $454 million civil fraud judgment against Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who is appealing the ruling.
FDNY spokesman Jim Long said the text messages Kavanagh sent to James “reflect her deep disappointment and frustration at the actions of a few bad actors, who may or may not have been FDNY employees.”
