BSVAC in Action

Brooklyn volunteer ambulance group battling back after setbacks BY LORI CHUNG BROOKLYN PUBLISHED 6:00 AM ET MAR. 15, 2022 BROOKLYN, N.Y. — There’s no telling what the members of the Bed Stuy Volunteer Ambulance Corps will find on an emergency call, but each day, commanding officer Antoine Robinson says, they’re ready to step in. The all-volunteer group is battling back from the brink after the death of Robinson’s father, James Rocky Robinson in 2019, who founded the group...

At top, historic photo shows the late Rocky Robinson, center, holding court surrounded by first responders he personally trained. Our Time Press Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance CorpsBattles Coronavirus Pandemic Antoine Robinson, 35, Commanding Officer of Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps (BSVAC) and heir to a legacy, appreciates the rounds of applause nightly at 7pm from New Yorkers who are saluting the first responders during the coronavirus pandemic. “I...

There was a time when emergency calls in Bed-Stuy went unanswered. The Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps was formed to answer the call. by Nigel Roberts May 26, 2020 in Bedford Stuyvesant, Covid-19, Featured News, Non-Profit & Community By now, we’ve all heard the stories of a 911 call center overwhelmed by emergency calls for help around the coronavirus. The truth is, emergency medical services and ambulances are struggling to keep up. Well, in some parts of...

Matt Troutman  | Patch•May 20, 2020 BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps was formed when few people stepped up to help the neighborhood — and even went out of their way to avoid it. Now, the historic, minority-run ambulance service needs a bit of help of its own as it navigates the new coronavirus pandemic. Funding has dwindled throughout the crisis, leaving the service in the lurch. "We need your help to be able to continue to fight...

A firsthand look into life in New York City at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic CGTV America - Chinese TV At the start of April 2020 New York City was the most infected city on earth, with hundreds of thousands of residents suffering from COVID-19. As the city lays in quarantine, first responders and medical workers struggle to deal with the influx of cases, risking their own health amidst shortages of protective equipment as charities and volunteers work to mitigate the...

As COVID-19 has left many communities of color with little to no support, one volunteer ambulance service steps up BKReader by Kimberlean Donis April 30, 2020 in Bedford Stuyvesant, Covid-19, Featured News, Non-Profit & Community The Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps once was the lifeline of its community. Now more than ever, the minority-run service has ramped up its level of interaction with the community, despite its lack of resources, reports Patch....

Media source gives nod to BSVAC's front line role News12 - The Bronx – April 10, 2020 – featured BSVAC in its metro reporting on the coronavirus: The sound of sirens feels constant these days, serving as a reminder of the EMTs working tirelessly to keep New Yorkers safe. EMTs in the Bed-Stuy Volunteer Ambulance Corps have been working extra hard during the coronavirus pandemic. Antoine Robinson is the son of the late James “Rocky” Robinson who founded the Bed-Stuy Volunteer...

Matt Troutman 4/27/2020 | msn news | Patch NYC That's the message Councilman Robert Cornegy and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams sent Saturday as they delivered much-needed personal protective equipment to the service. Like many frontline coronavirus workers, the corps' volunteers found themselves in need of masks and other protective gear — and quick. “We wanted to make sure to provide those face coverings,” Adams said. “They’re on the ground and it’s so important...

The e-mail was short and joyous:   WE'RE IN BUSINESS BABY!!!!!!!! It was sent on March 17 by Antoine Robinson, President and Director of Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps (BSVAC), to the other three members of BSVAC’s Board of Directors:  Brooklyn architect Walter Maffei, Pastor Vernice Robinson, and lawyer Tamsin Wolf.  It was great news, indeed.  The used ambulance that BSVAC recently purchased can be put in service despite delays at DMV due to the coronavirus....