TOO CLOSE — The World Trade Center site flanks 90 Church Ave. — Photo by Bill Sachs

Members mobilize to fight move to lower Manhattan
Health Dept. members in NYC balk at move to ‘unhealthy, unsafe’ site

By SHERRY HALBROOK
Why can’t the state just leave well enough alone? That’s what hundreds of state employees who don’t want to leave their mid-town Manhattan worksite are asking.

In December, when the state’s lease ran out at 5 Penn Plaza, the Office of General Services got an extension of up to two years, but started looking for new space in lower Manhattan. 

When word got out that their new home-away-from-home was likely to be 90 Church Street — an enormous building adjacent to the World Trade Center site that has been vacant since it was severely contaminated by asbestos, dangerous chemicals and mold from the 2001 attacks and aftermath — the workers stood up and fought back.

“No one wants to go. We’re fighting this thing tooth and nail,” said Paul Stein, council leader of PEF Division 199 at the state Health Department, which would be moving approximately 425 employees from 5 Penn Plaza, and another 100 from Gertz Plaza in Queens. 

The Public Service Commission and other state agencies also may move employees to the site.

Mobilized and determined
PEF is joining forces with the other unions representing employees at the various federal, state and city agencies preparing to move into 90 Church St. now that it has been gutted and cleaned.

Taking the lead, Division 199 used its fully mobilized member network in December to quickly circulate petitions against the 90 Church St. site, And by January 16, it had delivered petitions with 220 signatures to state Commissioner of General Services Kenneth Ringler Jr.

“The history of severe contamination at 90 Church Street and the building’s location directly adjacent to what will be the largest construction site in the city for at least the next decade are the basis for overwhelming sentiment that a different building should be selected for our move,” the petitioners stated in their cover letter signed by Division 199 Health and Safety Committee Chair Alan Levitt and by his Civil Service Employees Association counterpart, Marie Rogers.

“The noise and air pollution from the construction site, and the trucks that will be continuously unloading materials are great cause for concern,” Levitt and Rogers wrote.

They are certainly a worry for Division 199 steward Allan Lind.

“We had a much smaller construction project near 5 Penn Plaza,” he recalled, “but that was for a short time compared to the decade or more they will work on the World Trade Center site. I’m a Vietnam combat veteran, and the sound of the blasting was nervewracking. I found it very hard to concentrate on what I was doing.”

Division 199 leaders said the state should require double panes of glass for all of the windows at 90 Church St. to help reduce the noise and dirt coming into the building.

OGS, DOH: It’s acceptable
The union’s campaign has already begun to pay off.

Ringler responded to the union’s petitions in a letter stating the 90 Church St. building, which covers an entire city block and is flanked on two sides by the WTC site, has been given a clean bill of health by the DOH Center for Environmental Health.

By reviewing the cleaning procedures and protocols, the sampling data, and touring the building, Ringler said, “CEH determined that all areas of the building were clean with no evidence of dust, debris or mold and testing was negative for airborne fungi, asbestos, fibers and silica as well as dioxins/furans, heavy metals and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons.” 
The CEH found it “acceptable for occupancy.” he said.

Ringler said efforts will continue “to ensure a safe work environment. For example, a HEPA (high efficiency purifying air) filter system will be installed on the individual air distribution units.” 
He also said the state will get written reports from the building’s owner on the results of periodic air testing. 

And Ringler arranged for Stein, Levitt and Rogers to tour the building.

However, Ringler’s letter did not directly address the employees’ concerns about working in the midst of the WTC reconstruction.

Members unconvinced
“No one wants to go, no matter how many improvements they make,” Stein said. 

“Half the windows in that building overlook the former WTC site,” he said. “The dust, diesel fumes and noise from the construction will be unhealthy for us and for the public we serve. And It will be psychologically harmful to be there surrounded by the reminders of all the horrors and painful associations of September 11. 

“We all fear for our health,” Lind said. 

Communicator Homepage March 04

Inside This Issue
Features
PEF tells lawmakers to keep
Court rules grievance denial
Battle for Middletown Psych Center
PEF rejects state’s contract offer
Take the contract pledge
Saving Camp McGregor
Shadow agencies undercutting trust
Parole rule changes spark concerns

Departments
President's Message
Member's Mailbag
PS&T Contract Update
Nurses' Station
Member Mobilization
Health Notes
Retirees In Action
Back Cover Ad
PEF Membership Benefits &Travel

Union Matters
PEF victory allows Downstate nurses
State lagging to help its 9/11 ‘heroes’
Struggle to save members at OCFS
WTC recovery worker still sick, hurting
PEF political volunteers get out the vote
Nurses set Lobby Day for May 4
Mobilizer conference, workshops
Vacant PEF Board seat filled
Attention Veterans

Save these dates:
April 21-25
Somos El Futuro!
The annual weekend conference in Albany of the Caucus of NYS Hispanic and Puerto Rican Legislators
For more information, to volunteer, or make reservations for the reception, call Helen Brooks at the PEF Legislative Office, 1-800-724-4997.

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