90 Church Staff Lobbying For Better Windows
By Ginger Adams Otis
The Chief-Leader, November 18, 2005
A coalition of state, city and Federal unions gathered
on the steps of City Hall Nov. 10 to renew their calls
for double-paned windows in their workplace at 90 Church
St. in lower Manhattan.
The workers have been protesting the lack of
protective interior windows for more than a year without
success. They're worried that the pending demolition of
several buildings damaged on 9/11 will stir up toxic dust
that's been dormant, and that diesel fumes and increased
particulate matter will increase air pollution around the
site. They said their existing windows, installed in the
1930s, were ill-fitting and "leaky."
Speaking of the Mayor
The group presented a petition signed with more than
1,300 worker signatures to City Council Member Robert
Jackson, who attended the protest in a show of solidarity
and promised to make sure "the Mayor saw it."
He got his chance just minutes later, when Mayor
Bloomberg, trailed by two security guards, walked briskly
across the City Hall courtyard toward the entrance. Paul
Stein, of the Public Employees' Federation, took
advantage of the unexpected proximity to press a flyer
into the Mayor's hands, while Mr. Jackson waved the
petition and the boisterous crowd on the stairs began to
chant "Double panes, double panes!"
The Mayor looked quizzically at the group, and
according to Mr. Stein, admitted he was not familiar with
the issue, but agreed to peruse the literature.
"He was very pleasant," said Mr. Stein. "He promised
to read it, and I hope he does."
Postal Workers at 90 Church Street, along with workers
for the Housing Authority and PEF, were asked to return
to their jobs in the days after 9/11 to restore a feeling
of normalcy to the area, said Lainie Kitt, a shop steward
with Teamsters Local 237 and a NYCHA employee.
Pleas Go Unheeded
But since then, she stated, neither the city, the
Postal Service, nor the building's owner — Mort Zuckerman
of Boston Properties — has responded to their calls for
better windows to keep out dust and pollution.
"Why not work with us?" shouted Ms. Kitt, addressing
her question to the absent Mr. Zuckerman — who is the
publisher of the Daily News — the HA and Postal Service.
"Why not keep us safe and healthy?"
Several floors in the building have been double-paned,
but only those occupied by PEF employees, who work for
the state. Many of them spoke at the rally, saying they
wanted the same consideration extended to their fellow
workers.
Tom Anderson, vice-chair of the Organization of Staff
Analysts, chastised the city and Federal governments for
taking a short-term view of the problem.
'Can Save Lives'
"What does it cost to install some double-paned
windows?" he asked. "It's a fraction of a fraction of
what's spent elsewhere. What's the cost of lingering,
painful, terrifying, and possibly fatal illness? Some
workers will have their fate changed by this."
He accused HA leaders of shrugging off responsibility,
stating that "the victim and the victim's family, the
pension system, the Social Security system and the
retirement system will pay the price, and NYCHA will have
moved on. Why isn't taking safer, less-expensive
preventative health measures like [double-paned] windows
a routine matter?"
In a letter written to the coalition about installing
double-paned windows, a spokesman for Mr. Zuckerman said
that it was "an individual tenant matter ... [left] to
the other tenants at 90 Church Street to make their own
decisions about whether such storm windows are
warranted."
HA: Did What's Needed
HA officials have previously stated that they feel
they've taken sufficient steps to protect worker health.
The agency brought in industrial cleaners after 9/11 and
had the building stripped while checking for
contamination. They installed pre-filters to supplement
the building's ventilation system and do regular testing
of air and water quality.
But the workers said there's still visible detritus
wafting in every day, and they're concerned about the
cumulative effect of working eight-hour shifts in an area
that they describe as "the city's largest construction
site for the next 10 years."
Suzanne Mattei, of the Sierra Club, seemed to sum up
the rally's mood best. "These good people aren't asking
for the moon," she said to the crowd, with visible
frustration and anger. "They're asking for windows. So
why don't you just give it to them?"
Reprinted by permission
|
