Fairview fire chief says sorry for 'careless and hurtful' slurs
- Feiner-LoGuidice meeting over fire chief's anti-Semitic remarks cancelled on Friday
- Fire district lawyer had scheduling conflict
Stung by mounting criticism of his anti-Semitic remarks, Fairview Fire Chief Anthony LoGiudice Friday apologized to Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner and the community for the vulgar comments attributed to him in court papers.
His apology came a day after the Fairview Board of Fire Commissioners noted "a wholly inappropriate and embarrassing utterance" by the chief, but did not apologize for the damage LoGiudice's speech did to the community.
LoGiudice's remarks were published last week in The Journal News' Tax Watch column, which led to calls for an apology by Feiner and the Anti-Defamation League.
"First, I apologize for offending you and others with my careless and hurtful words," LoGiudice wrote in a letter he hand-delivered to Feiner. "I said what I said without thought and without thinking of the pain that it would bring to this community. When I read my words in The Journal News, and realized that young people, friends, colleagues and neighbors of the Jewish faith were reading those words, I was horrified."
According to a retired firefighter, LoGiudice referred to Feiner "quite a bit" as a "…sucking Jew bastard."
LoGiudice also said he had made a contribution of $750 in Feiner's name to Jane Youdelman, whose late mother, Myrna Youdelman, was involved in Greenburgh town affairs for many years. The donation will pay for a memorial bench at the Myrna R. Youdelman Community Farm on the Woodlands campus of the Greenburgh Central School District in Hartsdale.
LoGiudice, who has served in the Fairview Fire Department since 1981, was named chief in 2011. His 2013 salary was $186,114.
Feiner was scheduled to meet with LoGiudice and his attorney Friday afternoon, but that meeting was canceled. Then Feiner said fire officials came to his office unannounced to drop off the letter. He said LoGiudice apologized to him when giving him the letter.
The apology was a good first step, said Feiner, but was still "insufficient." He wants the chief to visit the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, in Manhattan.
"I'd like to see them do more and go the Holocaust museum," said Feiner. "That would show the fact there is some sort of remorse."
LoGiudice, however, said he was remorseful in his letter.
"Using a slur to express anger is never appropriate in any context, even if uttered privately," he wrote. "As a public official, I owe a special duty to the people I serve and to those who report to me to conduct myself accordingly. Slurs are hateful and ugly and have no place in the firehouse or anywhere else."
Earlier in the day, Rabbi David Holtz, of Temple Beth Abraham in Tarrytown and chaplain to the Tarrytown Fire Department, said he was troubled by LoGiudice's remarks, and wondered what the ramifications for LoGiudice would be in the department.
"Many people harbor discrimination in their hearts or minds, and that we can't control," he said. "But they can control how they behave. There is no penalty for thinking, but there can be a penalty for behaving and speaking. I leave it to the people in charge. I don't think the issue should be dismissed because he was angry."
Fairview Fire Commission Chair Vikki Simmons did not return a phone message seeking comment.
Twitter: @davidmckay415