***PRESS RELEASE***

FIRE COMMISSIONER SWEARS IN NEW YORK BLOOD CENTER BOARD OF TRUSTEES CHAIRMAN HOWARD MILSTEIN AS HONORARY FDNY BATTALION CHIEF

Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano will swear in Howard P. Milstein, Chairman of New York Blood Center's Board of Trustees, as an Honorary FDNY Battalion Chief at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at FDNY Headquarters, 9 Metrotech Center, Brooklyn, NY.

"Howard Milstein has been an extraordinary friend to the New York City Fire Department, and our partner in saving lives, so it's fitting to appoint him as an Honorary Battalion Chief," said Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano. "As Chairman of the New York Blood Center, he is committed to the mission of helping others, a passion shared by our firefighters who have saved the lives of 140 individuals by donating bone marrow through the National Bone Marrow Donor Program."

Howard Milstein is the Chairman and C.E.O. of Emigrant Savings Bank and a strong supporter of September 11th-related charities and causes. Mr. Milstein is a donor and active board member of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. Following September 11th, Mr. Milstein was instrumental in the COPE campaign, which offered post-traumatic stress counseling to first responders and their families. In September 2011, Mr. Milstein dedicated the statue of "The Kneeling Fireman" outside of the headquarters of Emigrant Savings Bank in Midtown Manhattan. It is the only Midtown Manhattan memorial to all first responders and victims of the terrorist attacks.

Mr. Milstein and his wife Abby run the Howard and Abby Milstein Foundation, supporting charities in many fields including medical research, homeland security, and higher education.

Press Contact: Francis X. Gribbon & Frank Dwyer, (FDNY) (718) 999-2056

http://www.nyc.gov/fdny