The FDNY sent an ambulance in response to a call for a woman on Nov. 1who was so intoxicated she could not identify herself, reports say.
The FDNY addressed a letter on Dec. 3 to that woman seeking payment. They did not know who the student was, so they addressed the letter to "UNKNOWN ASIAN," the New York Daily News reported.
The letter, which has the FDNY logo on it, arrived Tuesday at The New School's 2 W. 13th St. campus. It seeks payment in the amount of $783.40 for an ambulance ride to Beth Israel Medical Center on First Avenue, the New York Post reported.
"We were in disbelief," Christine Ahn, 29, associate director of academic communications at The New School, told the Daily News. "There's the racial aspect of it. And then there's the bizarre and kind of hilarious aspect."
Chris Rivera, the dean's office assistant at The New School, first saw the letter in the office mail.
"When I saw it said 'unknown Asian,' I thought it was racist," Rivera told the Post. "I showed it to Christine and her supervisor- both of whom happen to be Asian- and Christine thought it was sort of disrespectful and rude."
"What ever happened to Jane Doe," Rivera, 34, told the Daily News.
The FDNY confirmed they responded to a call from 255 W. 14th St. at 3 a.m. for a female under the influence of "drug or intoxication.
"The woman's name could not be confirmed, but a person with her said she lived at the New School, the Post reported.
EMS workers filling out paper work listed the woman's name as "unknown" and "Asian."
"The form was processed and sent to a billing contractor. It was a clerical error," an FDNY source told the Daily News.
The FDNY said they are asking the contractor not to process bills addressed to "Unknown," the Post reported.
"The funny thing for us was that there are so many Asians at this school," Ahn told the Post.
"There must be 'unknown Hispanic' or 'unknown African-American' bills out there," Rivera told the Post. "What else goes on in that agency?"
Pictures of the FDNY envelope and letter here.
