by LISA L. COLANGELO
Mayor Bloomberg defended the FDNY's new recruitment program yesterday - declaring the city isn't dumbing down requirements in a bid to get more minorities to join the predominantly white department. "I'm adamantly opposed and will never be part of any program that reduces standards," Bloomberg said yesterday during a visit to Engine 231/Ladder 120 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, to unveil the recruitment push. "We will get better quality," he added. "The more people there are, the better the group that you can select from." As part of the changes, reported first in yesterday's Daily News, the firefighter test will now be open to people with six months work experience and no college credits. The standard had been 30 college credits or two years of military duty. That has been reduced to 15 college credits or military service with an honorable discharge or the six months of work experience. The city has been under fire from federal officials and local activists about the FDNY's testing policies and racial make up. Fewer than 3% of the city's 11,000-plus firefighters are African-American. Capt. Paul Washington, head of the Vulcan Society, which represents the city's black firefighters, called the changes "an important step forward." But he is worried that even if more minority candidates take the FDNY test, they will end up at the bottom of the hiring list. Washington, a frequent critic of the department, said the city should make the FDNY Academy tougher "so candidates can be washed out in that process as opposed to being washed out in a written test that doesn't really have much relevance to the job that they perform." Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy called the city's recruitment plan short on details. "They did not take any of the suggestions that I have made for four years on how to improve minority recruiting and get the most physically fit candidates," Cassidy said yesterday. "They need to recruit from the military and make the physical more competitive." The city is embarking on an advertising campaign that touts the job's flexible hours, lifelong health benefits and option to retire with half-pension after 20 years. Free tutorials and free physical training programs to help applicants prepare for the tests are also being offered. "We're going to do everything we possibly can to change the composition [of the department] so that it reflects the population that we serve," said Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.
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