NY fire captain ‘pressured black firefighter to attend racist party at Rochester mansion
A New York fire captain pressured a black firefighter to attend a racist party at a Rochester mansion that featured a Trump cutout and KFC buckets in front of Juneteenth flags.
Captain Jeffrey Krywy took firefighters Jerrod Jones, 40, who is black; McKenzie ‘Mack’ Neal, and Aurelio ‘Angel’ Perez to the East Avenue house while on-duty on July 11.
Krywy has since resigned from his role – before disciplinary proceedings that could have resulted in his termination could begin.
The party, which was at dentist Nicholas Nicosia and his wife Mary’s home, was private, but Krywy is said to have insisted they go.
Jones filed a notice of claim – indicating he intends to file a lawsuit – on August 11 against the Rochester Fire Department (RFD) and and the City of Rochester.
‘We will use the attached document as the basis of our lawsuit going forward. But we would prefer to resolve the matter with the City,’ Jones’ lawyer, Nate McMurray, told DailyMail.com on Wednesday.
Captain Jeffrey Krywy took firefighters Jerrod Jones, 40, who is black; McKenzie ‘Mack’ Neal, and Aurelio ‘Angel’ Perez to an East Avenue mansion for a party while on-duty on July 11. He has since retired after an investigation determined he would have to leave the force
Jones (pictured) said he saw a cutout of Trump in the driveway, pictures of politicians on stakes, and buckets of KFC until Juneteenth flags while at the party
Jones, a 14-year veteran of the force, said he ‘immediately’ felt uneasy when he noticed a ‘large cut out of former President Donald Trump’ in the driveway upon arrival.
He also saw ‘two large Juneteenth celebration flags decorated the lawn,’ according to the notice.
‘Near the flags he saw buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken prominently displayed – an apparent use of the racist trope recycled by bigots to mock Black Americans,’ the notice read.
There were also pictures of ‘local democratic politicians on stakes across the grass and around the backyard, including members of the Rochester Police Accountability Board and a picture of Councilman Mitch Gruber among many others.’
And there was a woman wearing a red wig impersonating Democratic County Legislator Rachel Barnhart and attendees reportedly yelled ‘sexually explicit comments’ at her.
‘The woman danced in a mocking, but sexual, manner to please the attendees,’ the notice read.
The party took place at an East Avenue mansion (pictured)
The Nicosias’ (pictured) reportedly both talked to Jones and Mary allegedly offered the firefighter to take home the buckets of chicken
Neal reportedly apologized to Jones, stating: ‘We shouldn’t be here. This is bulls***.’
RFD members are not allowed to ‘attend partisan political events, let alone events that advocate for prejudice that hatred or otherwise disparage the RFD.’
Perez reportedly did not say anything, but the notice claimed that was ‘custom and culture for less senior members,’ but he appeared ‘uneasy.’
Nicosia had come over to Jones to speak with him at the party, the notice claimed, to ‘neutralize any potential negative fallout from Jones’s presence.’
While speaking with the homeowner, Jones noticed the impersonator handed Krywy a gift bag, which had a Juneteenth cup and a bottle of Cognac liquor – which is ‘another racist trope used to demean Black Americans.’
‘I didn’t know the captain [Krywy] was a Cognac man,’ Jones shouted over to his superior mockingly, the notice said. Krywy reportedly responded by telling his men not to take any pictures.
Jones claimed the captain and the homeowner walked away afterward and talked ‘nervously’ and that no one at the party told Jones their ‘real names.’
As the party continued, the three firefighters reportedly wanted to leave the party and at one point Nicosia’s wife Mary Znidarsic-Nicosia asked Jones if he ‘wanted to take home the chicken,’ which he refused.
She then allegedly asked: ‘You sure? It’s KFC!’ Neal then offered to take the rest of the chicken to the firehouse for the others on-duty, which Mary obliged too.
Roughly 40 minutes after arriving to the party, the four of them left. Neal later asked Jones and Perez: ‘How f***ed up was that?’
Jones, who has been on the force for 14 years, is currently on leave and is asking for $3million in emotional damages and a $1million in compensatory damages
Jones’ lawyer Nate McMurray is calling for the investigation results to be published
Jones reported the incident to acting battalion Chief George Smith. The chief was reportedly ‘shocked’ and promised ‘immediate action,’ but Jones claimed no investigation took place and he and Krywy were scheduled to work the next shift together.
Krywy has since retired before the termination process could begin after being presented with the investigation results, which would have ‘required him to leave the service,’ according to Rochester Mayor Malik Evans.
Jones is now requesting a court to award him in $3million in emotional damages and $1million in compensatory damages.
‘What happened to me a month ago, cut me very deeply,’ Jones said at a press conference.
Jones also said he was fighting for this because he has two children and doesn’t want them to ‘go through what I experienced.’
DailyMail.com has attempted to contact the Rochester Fire Department for comment.
