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
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