By Michael V. Cusenza
After a relatively brief, tumultuous tenure leading the City’s Bravest, Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh on Saturday announced that she will resign her post as soon as the administration has selected a suitable successor.
Kavanagh said “it’s time to pass the torch to the next leader of the finest Fire Department in the world.”
The first woman to head the City Fire Department, Kavanagh was appointed FDNY commissioner in October 2022. She joined the department in 2014, serving as first deputy commissioner for five years.
However, Kavanagh’s 21 months have been bumpy to say the least. Last year, she demoted multiple senior officials, which led to other officials resigning or forfeiting their titles to protest the decision, and prompted some calls for Kavanagh’s ouster, Spectrum News NY1 noted in a July 13 report.
File Photo
“If there was one thing that needed to be fixed in the department, it was her,” Councilwoman Ariola said.
Some elected officials aren’t exactly shedding tears over Kavanagh’s imminent departure.
“As Chair of the Committee on Fire and Emergency Management, I can say with tremendous knowledge of many issues that Laura Kavanagh has proven that she should have never been in this position to begin with,” Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park) said. “I’m glad the mayor took the action of removing her. If there was one thing that needed to be fixed in the department, it was her, and I am glad that the administration has come to this decision before she was able to do any more damage to the men and women of New York’s Bravest.”
Still, Kavanagh remained resolute as she looked forward to her “next professional challenge” and pondered the events of the last two years.
“My dedication to the FDNY has never and will never waver,” she said.
