Second school in leased building is shut down

Just three weeks into the new school year, another city school in a leased building has been forced to shut down because of environmental safety concerns.

UFT reports of water leaks, falling ceiling tiles and issues stemming from asbestos-containing spray-on insulation shut down the PS 143 Annex in Corona, Queens on Sept. 23 and sent five kindergarten classes to safer quarters at PS 307 down the block.

This closing came hard on the heels of the sudden shutdown of PS 51, the Bronx school occupying leased land for more than 20 years that was found to be contaminated with cancer-causing trichloroethylene.

“The environmental hazards found at PS 51 and now at the PS 143 Annex demonstrate that the DOE is not taking adequate precautions to ensure that leased school properties are safe for students and staff,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew.

The School Construction Authority’s environmental audit, which included a review of past uses of the property and air monitoring for chemical contaminants, found the building suitable for occupancy, but school staff immediately began reporting unsafe conditions to the union as soon as they moved in at the beginning of the school year.

In response to staff concerns, a UFT health and safety representative conducted a site visit on Wednesday, Sept. 21 that verified complaints of falling, missing, stained and water-damaged ceiling tiles in a number of locations and exposed spray-on insulation above the missing tiles. ,P. Because of the numerous water leaks throughout the building and the presence of asbestos-containing spray-on insulation, the UFT requested that the building be closed on Friday, Sept. 23 — and at a minimum for the next school week — for further inspection.

Chris Proctor, the director of the UFT Safety and Health Department, called for a tour of the building that included UFT officials together with School Construction Authority and DOE representatives. The group’s findings resulted in a decision to keep the building closed until a thorough investigation and repair of the leaks, water infiltration and asbestos-containing spray-on insulation could be carried out.

The school closure is indefinite because of the need for extensive repairs to the roof, parapets and facade of the building — the responsibility of the building owner — as well as the need to address the serious interior problems, which are the responsibility of the DOE.

The annex — over a mile away — was opened to relieve severe overcrowding at PS 143, which already has portable trailers on its site.

The displaced staff has been left wondering about the due diligence shown by the DOE in evaluating the newly leased site when the safety issues were evident to them on the first day of school.

UFT Special Representative Sandra Dunn-Yules charged the DOE with “failing to do its homework properly” before opening the newly leased site.

When the DOE failed to mention the asbestos issue at a meeting with parents of the displaced kindergarteners on Sept. 26, UFT District 24 Representative Rosemary Parker brought the issue to the attention of the audience.

The UFT will continue to monitor the situation.