NYC firefighters union to endorse Andrew Yang
The firefighters union will endorse Andrew Yang for New York City mayor Thursday in Queens, The Post has learned.
“I believe in him. I believe that this city needs a fresh face in politics,” said Andy Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association.
“I’m just amazed that the politicians we have at hand always promise to increase the resources of the department but continually not deliver,” Ansbro said.
“How long can we talk about new firehouses in Hudson Yards, Long Island City or any other area that’s been built up without actually doing it?” he asked.
Ansbro’s powerful union counts 20,000 active and retired members. Yang’s only other union endorsement comes from the Freelancers Union.
Yang, 46, a former entrepreneur, made his first foray into politics during the Democratic presidential primary last year.
“I believe someone unhindered by New York City politics without the attachments and obligations can really make a difference,” Ansbro said.
He declined to discuss why the union snubbed front-runner Eric Adams, who may have seemed like a natural fit as a former NYPD captain.
Yang ranked third in the most recent poll by PIX 11, after Adams and Maya Wiley, the former chief counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The firefighters’ backing will be only the second union endorsement for Yang, who along with Wiley was co-endorsed by the Freelancers Union in March.
Read the full story in the New York Post, here.