Stephen Goldsmith at Crain's Breakfast Forum
Contrast the two available videos that show deputy mayor Stephen Goldsmith’s response at the July 20 Crain’s Breakfast Forum to a question by Erik Engquist. Engquist asked Goldsmith what City Hall plans to do to close those fire houses that, according to Engquist, “don’t contribute to safety.”
We watched both versions: a tightly-edited professional video on the Crain’s New York Business website, and a longer, hand-held, and presumably unedited video, posted by reader Louis Flores. It showed that Crain’s skips some of the more controversial issues Goldsmith touched on.
In the YouTube video, Goldsmith says “there is a staffing issue on some of the apparatus where there’s a collective bargaining agreement and a set of rules which allow a slight change in the way the apparatus is staffed.” The Crain’s version doesn’t show this.
YouTube’s Goldsmith continues, “So it’s a long way of saying I think the answer to your question is ‘yes.’ There will be inevitably some staff closures recommended in, hopefully, in concert with good data which shows which can be done without affecting safety.” Crain’s omits this.
Both versions show Goldsmith saying he will study, “in particular, the costs of supporting the retired [firefighters]; as you all know from reading the paper, the pension burden on the operating costs is enormous, and needs to be studied as part of this.”
Both versions record Goldsmith’s commitment to a less-controversial cost-cutting measure: eliminating the city’s remaining sidewalk fire alarm boxes, which, he says, will save the city $6 million annually.
CityPragmatist 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdLQNanbNhU Please watch my YouTube. I walk up to Goldsmith before the function and ask him several questions including why hire a Republican this late in the game unless it is yet another indicator Bloomberg still has his eye on The White House? When I ask Goldsmith about “infrastructure” as in NYC’s is shot to hell and my concerns for the people of NYC he says “thank you” which I translate as “F-you, you are dismissed”. I made a playlist of YouTubes, one by me and several by my fellow activist and he uses subtitles on all his YouTubes. He is a hard core liberal but being tri-lingual at least he provides subtitles translating Republican. All jokes aside, Stephen Goldsmith is a disaster who can handle questions from 2 white male reporters and says he is an “operations guy” and he does not want to answer social political questions. Scary I know. He appears not to understand why the FDNY has 2 fire trucks in a firehouse. You see, Deputy Goldsmith, one fire truck is an engine and one is ladder and you need both in case of a fire!!!!!! He will not last as long as Dollar Bill Dan Doctoroff. Go to my blog and under my search engine type Goldsmith and read my insights. I mention confronting Doctoroff about infrastructure concerns as well and that was before the steam pipe explosion that looked like a terror attack. Doctoroff did not brush me off with “thank yous”. He had someone from DEP contact me and assure me all was ok. Than the Grand Central horrific steam pipe tragedy happened and shortly there after Doctoroff who once referred to himself as the Deputy of infrastructure left to return to King Mike’s private empire. Goldsmith is shockingly inarticulate and a bumbler with words. Hard to believe he would be much better with “operations”.