Two white FDNY physicians are suing the city, claiming they were barred from a lucrative promotion so department brass could install a highly educated but inexperienced black candidate.
Drs. Ann Marchesano, 60, and Mark Spadaro, 64, have worked part-time with the FDNY since 2007, administering required fitness and medical examinations, according to their suit filed in Brooklyn federal court.
The veteran physicians claim that they both applied in 2014 for the position of fire medical officer, a full-time slot that pays $108,000 annually, court papers state.
The doctors claim they were never contacted for an interview despite their experience — and that the job went to a 30-year-old black candidate who wasn’t properly certified at the time of her hire.
Dr. Shenecia Beecher, who has since been fully certified, graduated from Yale and Columbia universities’ medical schools, according to the suit.
The plaintiffs’ attorney, David Wims, said that FDNY brass pushed Beecher through to promote diversity and that Marchesano and Spadaro were passed over for being white and old.