NY CITY'S COPS GET PUPPET $OCKED

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Here's the link: NY CITY'S COPS GET PUPPET $OCKED

By PHILIP MESSING

March 13, 2007 --

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 51/2 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.

Additional reporting by David K. Li

What's the most you ever lost in a coin toss, Friendo?

[JohnnyD 0]

Supply and demand.

[willard 0]

Pro athletes in NY get paid even more.

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Pro athletes in NY get paid even more.

Thanks buddy. Thanks a lot. Why don't you just get some salt and just start rubbing it in the gaping bullet hole in my back?

What's the most you ever lost in a coin toss, Friendo?

[livendive 8]

As if cops are doing it for the paycheck...

Maybe the puppeteers have a better union.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

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As if cops are doing it for the paycheck...

Maybe the puppeteers have a better union.

They obviously do if they're getting a higher starting salary. Things just don't go past you, do they?

Have a good one bro.

What's the most you ever lost in a coin toss, Friendo?

[willard 0]

No disrespect intended. My apologies if you were offended.
I was merely pointing out that risk is very seldom truly a consideration in wages, i.e. the athletes get paid millions to play with a ball while the cops who put their asses on the line to protect those athletes get paid very little in comparison. There is just something about that system that irks me, but I'm not sure what can be done about it.

[billvon 3,080]

> Pro athletes in NY get paid even more.

And some soldiers currently serving in Iraq get even less. It's not always fair when you look at risk vs pay.

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No disrespect intended. My apologies if you were offended.

I wasn't offended at all. Did I come across as such? I learned to develop thick skin. I thought you were joking so I just chimed in as well.

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There is just something about that system that irks me, but I'm not sure what can be done about it.

I have learned that one should accept the world as we were born into it. It was a concious decision I made on my part to change career paths. Therefore, I knew what I was getting into. If they do something about it, then great. If they don't, I still get my pension and I don't have to swim with the sharks in the corporate america pool any longer. I get to eat donuts and watch the greatest show on earth for $25k a year.

The only downfall is that I can't afford to jump as often as I'd like to.

What's the most you ever lost in a coin toss, Friendo?

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And some soldiers currently serving in Iraq get even less. It's not always fair when you look at risk vs pay.

You got that right.

We were all adults when we made the decision to risk our lives going to work. So we all knew what we were getting ourselves into.

What's the most you ever lost in a coin toss, Friendo?

[willard 0]

Maybe you can convince the department to start a new division similar to smoke jumpers. You could be on standby with your rig. When a call comes in a heli takes you to the site and you jump in and get there faster than any cruiser could. Literally swoop in and knock the perp on his ass. You could call yourselves "Mugger Jumpers" .

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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And some soldiers currently serving in Iraq get even less. It's not always fair when you look at risk vs pay.

You got that right.

We were all adults when we made the decision to risk our lives going to work. So we all knew what we were getting ourselves into.

To be pedantic 10 USC 510 makes the minimum enlistment age 17 and even beyond 18 adulthood is a grey area. We don't trust people under 21 to make good decisions about alchol or work as commercial drivers across state lines. You can't be president until you're 35.

[kelpdiver 2]

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That contrasts sharply with the salary for a rookie NYPD cop, which is a measly $25,100 a year.
...
After starting at $25,100, a police officer's salary jumps to $32,700 after six months.

After 51/2 years on the job, cops can make up to $59,588.

what are you bitching about?

After the 'probationary' period you're at puppermaster pay, and 5 years later, well past. What other jobs have a 100% increase in 5.5 years?

Nevermind the potential to make 6 figures with overtime. (common in San Francisco)

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what are you bitching about?

Who be bitchin'? I no bitchin'.

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Nevermind the potential to make 6 figures with overtime.

Alright wisenheimer, you have a friend that's on the job, right?

That potential to make 6 figures is if you want to stay at the donut eating level. When you make it to lower brass there's not that much O/T for you. I don't want to eat donuts all my life. I want to be the guy that sends another guy to buy the donuts for other guys to eat.

What's the most you ever lost in a coin toss, Friendo?