Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps

A New Trailer for BSVAC Headquarters

Captain Robinson & Chief Davis next to current trailer Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has responded to BSVAC's need for a new trailer for its operational headquarters by securing an allocation of $135,000 under the NYC budget to fund a new trailer. There is still red tape to go through, but we hope to have the new trailer in place later this year.

"The trailer we have now is lopsided," James "Rocky" Robinson, co-founder of the group told the NY Daily News. "In the winter, it's so cold, when you breathe, you can see vapor coming out of your mouth... And if there's rain, it comes right in."

"You have to remember," Robinson continued, "we are pioneers as far as a volunteer ambulance corps goes. We broke the mold. The average volunteer corps used to just transfer little old ladies. Then we came along, running with oxygen tanks and kits. With our ambulances, we could beat anyone else here."

The Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps (BSVAC), the nation’s first minority-run volunteer ambulance corps, was founded in 1988 by two EMS workers, Captain James "Rocky" Robinson and Specialist Joe Perez. BSVAC has greatly improved emergency care in the Bed-Stuy community and trained countless youngsters and adults in life-saving skills. Read more.