2 N.Y. Firemen Suspended for Role in Racist Parade

Two firefighters were suspended Friday for riding on a Labor Day parade float that mocked the killing of a black man in Texas and included white revelers in black face.

Jonathan Walters and Robert Steiner, both 29, admitted this morning that they were part of a group of white men who painted their faces and wore Afro-style and dreadlock wigs, Fire Commissioner Thomas von Essen said.

Walters and Steiner were suspended without pay, and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said they would be fired “for demonstrating a total lack of understanding.”

“They will never return to the force,” Giuliani said.

Police officials believe a police officer also marched or rode with the float, the mayor said. Police Commissioner Howard Safir said he expected the officer to be identified within 24 hours.

Steiner, an eight-year fire department veteran, and Walters, a city firefighter for 2 1/2 years, were very apologetic, von Essen said.

Giuliani said he would fire any police officer, firefighter or other public servant involved with “this disgusting display of racism.” The parade for firefighters was sponsored by the Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department.

For years, the parade in the Broad Channel section of Queens has featured tasteless parodies of ethnic groups with little outcry from the mostly white community.

One year, a float was called “Gooks of Hazard,” with whites depicting Asians; another year, there was “Hasidic Park,” a takeoff of the movie “Jurassic Park” lampooning Jews. On still another float, “Happy Gays,” men dressed up as women and were shown flirting with each other.

This year, the firefighters rode a float called “Black to the Future.” At one point, they mocked the dragging death of a black man in Jasper, Texas, a crime that shocked the country earlier this year.

Members of the group break-danced, bounced basketballs and, on an amateur video, appeared to drink alcohol. One man on the float is heard saying: “You turn your back for a second and ‘Watch out,’ they’re moving in!”

The images appeared on televisions and in newspapers.