The city is about to shell out more money for a puppeteer than for a rookie cop. In the twisted world of New York civil service, pulling the strings on a marionette is worth at least $7,000 more per year than risking one's life as a rookie officer. The city Department of Parks & Recreation just advertised that it's looking to hire up to three puppeteers - for jobs that will pay between $32,275 and $50,242 a year with complete benefits and union representation. That contrasts sharply with the salary for a rookie NYPD cop, which is a measly $25,100 a year. A city Parks spokesman said only one puppeteer will be hired for now. Retired NYPD cop Michael Fandal, who moonlighted as a children's party clown, was outraged by the job posting, and called for the city to stop playing around with police pay. Fandal - who billed himself as "Ernest Desire" in his second job - won honors during his 20-year NYPD career between 1973 and 1993 for incorporating his showmanship into the job. "I think it's sad that entertainers are being paid more money than starting cops," said Fandal, 57, who now works as a substitute city schoolteacher. "Looking at it from the police officers' point of view, they're risking their lives out there and puppeteers are getting more money for entertaining a couple of kiddies at no real risk. "I think this [the puppet job] will tick off police officers that their risks are not being appreciated," Fandal added. Parks spokesman Warner Johnston called the puppet job "a very skilled position." "It's not just someone with his hand up a puppet," he said. "It's someone who has to create and maintain the marionette. It's an artisan position." The new puppeteer will work at the Marionette Theater in Central Park - and also make rounds in the "PuppetMobile," doing performances in city parks and recreation centers. Johnston said he expects the new city puppeteer to make closer to $32,275 than to $50,242. "It's a civil service range and we typically hire toward the low end of the range," he said. The oddball disparity between puppeteers and cops could be traced back to the police union's own bargaining committee, which negotiated substantially higher pay for veteran officers at the expense of the rookies. After starting at $25,100, a police officer's salary jumps to $32,700 after six months. After 5 1/2 years on the job, cops can make up to $59,588. The latest police contract has now expired and talks are at an impasse on a new one. Rookie cops have had a particularly rough time lately. Beat cop Joseph Cho was attacked on Feb. 6 in Queens by a bat-wielding thug who had spent three hours lying in wait for an officer. The thug, Danny Fernandez, 21, was chased down and arrested by two other rookie cops, Patrick Lynch and Christine Schmidt. Fernandez, who stole Cho's gun and handcuffs, was slapped with a slew of charges including attempted murder. Two weeks ago, a rookie cop in Queens was stabbed trying to protect a man who had just saved a nun from being attacked. Luckily the blade went directly into Officer Stuart Ingram's badge, shattering the knife and saving his life.
Information From: The New York Post
Posted by: USMCMP5811
That's a load of B.S.! WTF is Bloomburg thinking?
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