By Leonard Greene
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — Hot enough for you?
We’re not talking about the current heat wave that has New Yorkers baking like a deep dish casserole in a gas-fired oven.
We’re talking about the heat generated when you take the city’s most physically fit firefighters, EMTs and paramedics, give them a prop like a hose or an ax, and put them on the pages of a full-color, glossy calendar.
Muy caliente!
“It’s a great opportunity to represent the FDNY in a positive light,” said Firefighter Justin Hassan. “It’s just icing on the cake.”
Not that he can have any. Ever since Hassan signed up for next year’s Calendar of Heroes fundraising campaign, the firefighters in his station house have been teasing him about avoiding snacks to look good for the camera.
”’You gonna eat that cookie?’“ Hassan said, mocking his colleagues. ‘’Is the calendar going to approve of that?’ But it’s all in good fun.”
Hassan will be one of 25 department models on hand for the unveiling Thursday morning at Midtown Manhattan’s Vanderbilt Plaza .
The hunky and hot heroes calendar is returning after a four-year hiatus. City firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics were told of the calendar’s comeback in an internal memo back in March.
The calendar was on hiatus for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic before it was officially canceled.
Hassan was born in August, but he said he would have been happy to represent any of the 12 months.
”I just showed up and smiled for the camera,” he said.
But Hassan wasn’t chosen for any of the months. His shirtless photo is featured on the calendar’s cover.
EMT Jenniffer Constanzo, 36, is the women’s calendar’s Miss October. She said it is a fitting month because she was born in October, and she’ll be representing Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Her pink-hued photo pays tribute to the people in her life who have died from cancer.
“I have a long history of family members who have suffered from that horrible sickness,” Constanzo said.
Constanzo’s EMT service comes after a career in the Army, where she still serves as a reservist. She said her father and grandfather both served in the military.
“I guess I got the calling,” Constanzo said. “I wanted to provide a service and do more than just be a regular New Yorker. I really do love what I do. I love my job in the Fire Department , and I love my job in the military. I just love serving people.”
Hassan moved over to the FDNY after a stint in the city’s Sanitation Department. He is a graduate of the University of Albany, where he was a starting safety for Albany’s Great Danes.
But Hassan didn’t give up his love of football. He’s now a middle linebacker for the FDNY squad.
“It was definitely a goal of mine, being a firefighter,” Hassan said. “It gives me a great sense of pride and fulfillment just every day going to work knowing I can make a difference in the communities I serve.”
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