More than twenty-one months after its closure due to damage caused by a snowstorm, Fire Station No. 6 is operational again. Yes, it is a nice station and I am glad that it has finally reopenedHowever, the fact remains that the Unified Government wasted 15 months trying to get an ARRA "economic stimulus" grant so as to rebuild the station (in its entirety) to a standard comparable to its newest elaborately overbuilt "suburban" stations. In the event, the station was rebuilt with the same funds City Hall could have used 15 months earlier without the grant.
I did not support the ARRA. But for anyone who did, the denial of this grant reveals just what a scam it was; you would be hard pressed to find a more "shovel-ready" project than this one, as City Hall already had the land (the present location of Fire Station No. 6), the plans (from Fire Station No. 9), and an immediate need.
Of course, getting the grant would not have constituted "economic stimulus" in any meaningful manner - but that is an argument for another day.
Also, of course, my argument was never with the rank and file firefighters who staffed Fire Station No. 6, but with the higher-ups who determined policy.
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