Life threat: serious problems were discovered in New York at six MTA depots

Leaders The MTA, which is responsible for operating the New York City subway, city and suburban transport, has for years ignored unsafe working conditions at railway and bus stations. Because of this, boiler houses in six depots are out of order, the publication reports. Daily News.

A report by the Inspector General of the Agency (IG) published on October 7 noted widespread negligence, which resulted in boiler rooms in six MTA depots becoming unusable. It also refers to “unsafe working conditions of workers due to asbestos, mold, unprotected electrical wires, collapsing external surfaces and parasites.”

"These problems were known to some executives - and have been known for some time - but the problems have not been addressed," IG said in a letter to AIT chief Andy Byford.

It is noted that one of the problematic boiler rooms is located at the Eastern New York bus station in Brooklyn - the same place where asbestos-containing materials were found in the building's ventilation system last month.

It is noted that asbestos was discovered in the boiler depot in the 2017 year, but by August 2018 the hazardous materials had been removed.

In addition, over the past year, the State Bureau of Safety and Health of Workers Documented a number of fire hazard situations associated with the danger of leaving the boiler room and the risk of tripping, as well as problems with fire doors.

IG discovered that not only East New York depot has problems.

So, at the 207-th railway station in upper Manhattan on the roof, asbestos material was found that completely covered the electrical equipment from the inside. The report said that to solve the problem, the heads of the institution installed a tarp for collecting water and ensured its runoff to the ground. According to the document, MTA officials plan to repair the leaking roof.

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The audit also revealed that the facade of the 205 railway station in the Bronx is literally collapsing, and the bricks falling from the building’s facade have broken the outdoor air conditioning and railings. At the same time, officials have been aware of the state of the railway complex for at least 10 years, the source emphasizes.

The report said that MTA executives decommissioned this boiler room and built a new wooden building instead. However, during a recent visit, IG discovered leaks on the roof of this building, rotting wood, black mold and rats. MTA spokeswoman Meredith Daniels said the boiler room is being repaired.

Security problems were also found in boiler rooms on Jerome Avenue. There, the inspectors discovered that the floor of the room was flooded and the drains were clogged. Workers were forced to build "homemade wooden planks" so as not to stand in the water while repairing electrical equipment. According to Daniels, the drains in the room were cleared on September 12th.

She also stressed that "the safety of the MTA workforce" and "the proper maintenance of all our assets" are a priority for the agency.

“NYC Transit is fixing defects during scheduled inspections and maintenance is already underway at those sites,” Daniels said. "New York Transit has begun a full system-wide audit as well as immediate corrective action following the visit of the Inspector General."