FDNY's Tucker leaving post next month

FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker on Wednesday informed Mayor Eric Adams that he will resign next month, according to the department. Tucker, in a statement, said that it was the “honor of a lifetime” to serve as the FDNY’s 35th commissioner.

“Thank you to Mayor Adams for his trust and confidence in doing this job. We empowered the brave men and women who keep our city safe, bringing fire-related deaths to a historic low. I will leave this critical role on December 19, 2025. Between now and then, I will continue to lead the greatest fire department in the world and will ensure an orderly transition.”

Appointed by Adams in August 2024, Tucker had considered leaving his post and returning to the private sector since Adams dropped his reelection campaign in September and had been having doubts about his ability to serve under a different mayor, one department source said.

Concerns about Mamdani

Tucker, who is Jewish, was especially wary of mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s stance on Israel, another department source said.

Before he was commissioner of the FDNY, Tucker founded the security company T&M Protection Resources Holding.

The company has an Israeli subsidiary that won government contracts to run checkpoints in Israeli-occupied areas of the West Bank and East Jerusalem while Tucker was CEO, according to the Who Profits Research Center, a nonprofit that monitors private-sector involvement with the Israeli military. T&M's Israeli subsidiary has also provided security to Jewish settlements in the West Bank that have been deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice and the United Nations.

The Israeli subsidiary employs 15,000 people in Israel and is "one of Israel’s foremost providers of physical security, cleaning, cyber security, electronic & monitoring as well as outsourcing services," according to Duns 100, an organization that ranks private companies.

Mamdani has called the Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal and that Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ deadly attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, constitute genocide, a conclusion shared by numerous scholars of human rights and genocide, a leading Israeli human rights group and an independent United Nations commission. Mamdani's has drawn pushback from the Anti-Defamation League and hundreds of of rabbis across the country for his comments and other anti-Zionist stances the mayor-elect has taken.

A spokesperson for Mamdani did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

‘Great and genuine leader’

Adams said that Tucker led the FDNY with “courage, passion, and a sincere dedication to public safety.”

“When I appointed Commissioner Tucker to this critical role, I knew he’d have the experience, grit, and zeal to protect our city and support our fearless heroes — the firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics who put their lives on the line for New York every day,” Adams said in a statement.

Tucker succeeded Laura Kavanagh, the FDNY's first female commissioner, who faced opposition from much of the department's senior chiefs and old guard from the start of her tenure. Both commissioners oversaw the departments continued efforts — in collaboration with Mayor Adams — to diversify the ranks of the city’s Bravest and make firehouses safer for minority and women firefighters.

Tucker faced less resistance than Kavanagh from the department’s establishment and labor unions.

Andrew Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, said Tucker was a “great and genuine leader” who “cared deeply about the people who wear this uniform and always made firefighters feel heard, valued and supported.”

“Every new mayor will choose their own commissioner, but we can only hope they lead with the same heart and dedication that Commissioner Tucker showed each and every day,” Ansbro said by text message. “On behalf of all firefighters, we thank him for his service and wish him nothing but the best in the future.

The president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, Jim Brosi, said Tucker was a "true friend to the men and women to the FDNY."

"The officers of the FDNY will miss his steady leadership and genuine concern for every firefighter and their families," he said in a statement. "We thank him for his tireless service and wish him all the best in the future."

EMS concerns centered

Unlike previous commissioners, Tucker frequently acknowledged the pay and staffing challenges faced by the department's EMTs and paramedics and looked for innovative ways to boost their ranks. In June, Tucker unexpectedly diverted a class of fire cadets to the EMS academy in a bid to aid the beleaguered workforce while giving the cadets real-life work experience.

Tucker told the Daily News in March that "without immediate attention and proper investment [EMS] could soon collapse." He added that the problems plaguing EMS amounted to "the biggest public safety crisis that nobody’s talking about in New York City.” In August he declared in an interview with City & State that EMS is the "future of FDNY."

Oren Barzilay, the president of Local 2507, which represents the department's EMTs and paramedics, said Thursday that he thanked Tucker when he made those comments and was surprised the commissioner was leaving his post. "He realizes and acknowledges that my men and women keep this organization going forward," Barzilay said. "I wish him health and prosperity."

The department’s first deputy commissioner, Mark Guerra, will likely be interim commissioner until Mamdani appoints his replacement. An FDNY spokesperson said the department would announce the interim replacement when they're ready.

HFreeman@thechiefleader.com