An FDNY electrician who filed a race discrimination complaint against the department in December says a noose was left in front of his work locker last week.
Gregory Seabrook, an FDNY communications electrician for nearly 20 years, found the noose Thursday at the FDNY facility at 87 Union St. in Brooklyn, his lawyers said yesterday.
"There's an ominous message behind it," lawyer Stephen Jackson said of the nearly 3-foot-long noose, which he plans to display at a press conference today and then hand over to authorities.
The noose is "elaborately constructed" and tied in a "monkey knot," Seabrook's lawyers say.
"That was a type of weapon used as a flogging knot to beat slaves," Jackson said. "It's very thick and very hard and it's designed to cause injuries."
Seabrook, who is black, and four other minority electricians filed complaints with the New York State Division of Human Rights, charging the Fire Department overlooks minority electricians for overtime opportunities and promotions.
Four electricians filed complaints in October, while Seabrook filed in December, the lawyers say.
An FDNY spokesperson said he had no knowledge of the noose incident or the discrimination complaints, which he said are kept private while under investigation.
Seabrook, answering the door at his Brooklyn home last night, declined to comment.
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