A volunteer fire company in Rockland County, New York, has filed suit against the Monsey Fire District and its five fire commissioners, alleging that the district retaliated against the company and its members for challenging district policies. The suit claims that the district terminated its relationship with Brewer Fire Engine Company No. 1, effectively terminating its members from the fire department without charges or hearings, in violation of their constitutional and statutory rights.
The suit was filed in Rockland County Supreme Court on October 30, 2026, by Brewer Fire Engine Company No. 1, 43 of its members, and a district taxpayer. Named as defendants are the Monsey Fire District and Fire Commissioners Victor Mandel, Yaakov Fleigman, Motty Neiman, Moshe Y. Gandl, and Elliot Spitzer.
According to the complaint, Brewer Fire Company has provided fire protection to the Monsey area for more than 145 years. The dispute arose in September 2026 when the company, through attorney Brad Pinsky, challenged several policies adopted by the district.
One disagreement involved the district’s Length of Service Award Program (LOSAP), which provides retirement benefits to qualifying volunteer firefighters. According to the complaint:
- These benefits are not inconsequential as they can exceed $100,000.00 per participant for decades of service.
The district informed the fire company of a new policy limiting credit for responding to alarms to members who responded on apparatus. The fire company maintained that New York law permitted members to receive credit for responding, even if they did not respond onboard apparatus.
On September 25, 2026, Pinsky sent emails to the district’s attorney challenging the change to the LOSAP policy and a separate policy concerning district employees who also served as volunteers. Quoting from the complaint:
- The September 25, 2026 email from the Pinsky Law Group, PLLC, as attorneys for Brewer Fire Company, provided the statutory basis underlying the invalidity and illegality of the policy that had been issued by the Monsey Fire District.
- Additionally, on September 25, 2026, the Pinsky Law Group, PLLC also sent another separate email to the attorney for Monsey Fire District, on behalf of Brewer Fire Company, challenging a policy of the Fire District regarding paid employees of the Monsey Fire District who are also volunteers.
- The email alleged that “the policy blatantly violates the laws on conflicts of interest…” and asserted that the policy “violates the law and is not enforceable”.
- In both cases, Brewer Fire Company was expressing a grievance to an official policy of the Defendant, Monsey Fire District.
- Just days after the September 25, 2026 emails, the Fire District sent an “IMMEDIATE NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE MONSEY FD” terminating the LOSAP because the “Pinsky Law Group PLLC sent a threatening letter to District counsel stating that it represents the Brewer Fire Company” which “challenges the District’s proposal LOSAP response-credit policy and claims that it violates General Municipal Law § 217.”
- The district subsequently rescinded the suspension on October 12, 2026.
On October 20, 2026, the Board of Fire Commissioners announced that it had established a new fire company to serve the district and intended to discontinue its relationship with Brewer Fire Company.
According to the complaint, a commissioner read a prepared statement at the public meeting explaining the board’s decision:
The Board of Fire Commissioners has been working tirelessly in the past two months together with the Brewer Fire Company, but unfortunately we have a lot of resistance and lack of respect towards the Board’s authority and the policies of the Board…
The statement announced the formation of a new company whose mission would involve “no politics, no distraction.” Another commissioner reportedly told Brewer members that the decision was a direct result of their company’s leadership failing to communicate with the membership.
The district issued a termination letter dated October 20, explaining that differences in perspectives and priorities between the district and Brewer Fire Company had become increasingly apparent. The letter was directed to “Members of the Monsey Fire District and Community,” and not specifically to Brewer Fire Company or to each individual firefighter.
The complaint alleges that terminating the company’s relationship with the district effectively terminated the membership of its firefighters in the Monsey Fire District. Although members were permitted to apply for membership in the new organization, there was no guarantee they would be accepted.
On October 29, the district directed Brewer members to return district-issued equipment, including turnout gear. The complaint also alleges that armed individuals were sent to the company’s firehouse to retrieve equipment belonging to the district.
The new organization, Monsey Fire Rescue Company, was designated to provide fire protection services for the district.
The lawsuit alleges that the district’s actions violated the First Amendment rights of Brewer Fire Company and its members to petition the government for redress of grievances. The plaintiffs contend that the timing of the district’s actions, together with statements by commissioners connecting the termination to disagreements with company leadership, demonstrates that the decision was retaliatory.
The complaint also alleges that the district violated the firefighters’ due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and New York General Municipal Law § 209-l. That statute provides procedural protections for volunteer firefighters facing disciplinary removal, including written charges, notice, and a hearing.
The plaintiffs maintain that none of the members were charged with misconduct or incompetence, and none received a hearing before being removed. They contend that the district cannot circumvent those protections by terminating its relationship with the fire company, thereby effectively removing all of its members.
The suit raises a separate issue concerning the district’s employment practices. The plaintiffs allege that the district has hired trained firefighters, who they characterized as janitors and administrative personnel, and require them to respond to alarms as volunteers. The complaint alleges that these janitors and administrative personnel are, in essence, paid firefighters who have hired without complying with New York’s civil service requirements, and who not been properly enrolled in the state retirement system for firefighters.
A district taxpayer, Lisa Robin Saltzman, joined the suit seeking to prohibit the allegedly unlawful payments to those employees hired outside the civil service system. Under NY Civil Service Law § 102(2), a taxpayer is eligible to recover money paid by the fire district in violation of state civil service law, plus be awarded attorneys fees and costs.
The plaintiffs are seeking a court order reinstating Brewer Fire Company and its members to their previous operational status, restoring lost benefits and LOSAP credits, and prohibiting further retaliation. They also seek compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees, and an order requiring the district to comply with applicable civil service and retirement laws.