Ambulance corps on critical list
BY JOYCE SHELBYDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corp head James Robinson says the group needs a new trailer, but that money allocated for it in the city budget may not be released for a year.
-->Heart attacks. Gunshot wounds. Strokes. Traffic accidents.
For 18 years, the Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps has been racing to the rescue of people in need, sometimes in ambulances, sometimes on foot.
For almost as many years, it seems, the corps itself has also needed rescuing - and things are getting worse lately.
There's hardly ever been enough money to keep both ambulances on the road, pay insurance premiums and maintain a decent facility, said James (Rocky) Robinson, co-founder of the group.
Now it is waiting for the city to release funds to pay for a badly needed new trailer to replace the decrepit one the corps operates out of on city-owned property at 727 Greene Ave.
The group also wants to buy the land from the city to put up a real building - but the city has steadfastly refused to sell the now valuable parcel.
"The trailer we have now is lopsided," Robinson said. "In the winter, it's so cold, when you breathe, you can see vapor coming out of your mouth.... And if there's rain, it comes right in."
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz allocated $135,000 for a new trailer in the city's current budget, but the funds are caught up in red tape.
Markowitz' spokesman Brian Vines said it could take the city as long as a year to release the money.
Even with a new trailer, only half the battle will be won. Robinson wants the month-to-month property rental from the city to end and for the corps to be able to build a new home.
"We have begged them to sell it to us for $1," Robinson said. "But about five or six times, they tried to auction it off without us knowing. All these years, we never knew if we'd have a home the next day."
Department of Citywide Administrative Services spokesman Mark Daly said the city can't sell the land for $1.
"Under the current city charter, DCAS can only sell property through public auction based on an appraised value," Daly said.
With real estate values rising in Bedford-Stuyvesant, it might be harder than ever to get ownership of the property, Robinson conceded.
"But you have to remember," he said, "we are pioneers as far as a volunteer ambulance corps goes. We broke the mold. The average volunteer corps used to just transfer little old ladies. Then we came along, running with oxygen tanks and kits. With our ambulances, we could beat anyone else here."