NY lawmaker works to get death benefits for axed FDNY firefighter’s desperate family
NY Post
A state lawmaker has proposed a law change that would allow the family of ex-FDNY firefighter Derek Floyd to collect hundreds of thousands in death benefits despite his firing.
The bill from Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Queens) comes after a Post report Sunday that revealed the firefighter was let go in November by the FDNY with 10 others as the city made cuts to cover the ballooning cost of the migrant crisis.
“My bill provides Derek Floyd’s family with the financial lifeline they need in their time of grief, showing to them and the entire world our profound gratitude for his sacrifices,” said Rajkumar, a staunch ally of Mayor Eric Adams.
Floyd had been working as a probationary firefighter in the ceremonial unit for almost five years. He tried to finish the academy but had been repeatedly shot down by department doctors from returning to full duty due to complications from a heart attack that he suffered just months after he was hired.
He died on April 15 of a second heart heart attack, leaving his widow and two young kids, ages 6 and 2, with next to nothing, The Post previously reported. Had he gotten to five years on the job, his family would have been eligible for death benefits from the city.
The proposed bill would make Floyd retroactively eligible for those benefits.
