Who was Fired?

From Anna Aurilio of Environment New York:

“New York Governor David Patterson fired the head of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Commissioner Pete Grannis, last week after a DEC memo was leaked to the public showing that Gov. Paterson’s proposed budget cuts would hinder the agency’s ability to keep polluters in check. If the cuts are implemented, NY-DEC will have lost nearly a quarter of its staff since 2008 — crippling its ability to protect our environment. It’s critical that our next governor gives the DEC the resources it needs to protect New York’s air and water from pollution.

Join us today in calling on New York’s gubernatorial candidates, Andrew Cuomo and Carl Paladino, to adequately fund the DEC if they’re elected so that we can protect our environment. We’ll copy Gov. Paterson on your e-mail to show him that deep cuts to our environmental watchdogs are unacceptable to New Yorkers.

Gov. Paterson has proposed firing more than 200 employees from the Department of Environmental Conservation. The layoffs are so severe that the DEC will have a hard time keeping environmental cops on the beat to keep polluters from running roughshod over New York. The leaked memo said:

“Many of our programs are hanging by a thread…The public would be shocked to learn how thin we are in many areas.DEC is in the weakest position that it has been since it was created 40 years ago.”

It’s chilling to know that our health and safety may be at risk because Gov. Paterson won’t properly fund the agency that works to keep our air and water safe.”