The Tunnel to Towers Foundation has paid off the mortgage for the family of the late former FDNY firefighter Derek Floyd. This is what his widow called a “miracle.”
Floyd died of a heart attack last month, and his wife, Christine, was left with little money to cover their living expenses after being laid off late last year, The Post revealed over the weekend.
“When I got the call, I couldn’t stop sobbing and had to pull over to the side of the road,” Christine said Friday. “This is God’s miracle in the midst of a storm.
“I am so grateful to Frank Schiller and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation for supporting my family after Derek’s death. Derek is grateful that his service to his country will be rewarded and his family will be honored. “I would have been proud,” she added.
The foundation, named for the path that fallen firefighter Stephen Schiller took through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers after the Sept. 11 attacks, confirmed the donation to the post on Friday.
“Frank Schiller, chairman and CEO of Tunnel to Towers, spoke with Christine and advised her that the mortgage would be paid in full,” the nonprofit said in a statement. ing.
Councilmember Joanne Arriola (R-Queens) welcomed the donation, saying, “It’s great that the Tunnel to Towers Foundation steps up to help the families of true American heroes in their time of need.” Ta.
“The Floyds should never have been in this situation in the first place, but I’m glad to see there are great organizations out there who step up to make things right when the city is broken,” she said. The amount of mortgage repayments has not been disclosed.
Floyd was removed from the fire department late last year along with 10 other apprentice firefighters who were unable to complete fire academy as the city sought to cut costs in nearly all city departments to cover the immigration crisis. I was fired.
The 38-year-old Marine veteran suffered a heart attack in 2019 while attending the FDNY Academy and subsequently worked in the department’s ceremonies office for four and a half years.
However, because he had not completed five years of service, his family was not eligible to receive survivor benefits when he died on April 15.
Rep. Jennifer Rajkumar (D-Queens) proposed a bill Thursday in Albany that, if passed, would make families retroactively eligible for these benefits.
Mayor Adams defended the sacking of more than a dozen apprentice firefighters, saying it would be a waste of “taxpayer money” to keep them on the job.
“You can’t say, ‘Okay, you’re brought in to be a firefighter and you’re not qualified, we’re going to withhold your pay anyway.’ You can’t do that,” Adams said. Ta.
The administration has held off on firing Floyd in connection with a series of budget cuts since the FDNY acknowledged last November as part of the first round of austerity measures.
