Results tagged “dep”

Over 100,000 gallons of water flooded a four-block area in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx yesterday morning. A 20-inch water main broke around 3:30 a.m.; though it was contained by 6:30 a.m., NY1 reports the "sidewalk started to crumble, creating a huge gaping hole that stretched along half the street in one of the Bronx's busiest intersections"—231st Street and Broadway. Businesses, including a parking garage, Chase bank, and an African artifacts store, were flooded, leaving business owners worried about damages (the city is accepting damage claims). City Councilman Oliver Koppell added, "This is just about the worst place in the community where this could happen because all the buses converge on this corner, as well as a lot of traffic going from Kingsbridge to Riverdale." MyFoxNY says that while the DEP is restoring water pressure, residents "may see some brown water coming through their taps." The brown water is safe, just let it run.

Two female employees with the city's Department of Environmental Protection are suing the department on federal discrimination charges. The Daily News reports, "Lillian Padilla and Magda Rodriguez say they get the hardest and dirtiest jobs, are routinely threatened and insulted, and are denied showers or changing rooms after working in sewage." The pair say they've had pornography put in their trucks, been called "bitches" and "dykes" (they are lesbians) and been threatened when they've complained. They also claim that other female employees have left due to the atmosphere—out of the 426 DEP laborers, five are women—with Padilla adding, "I once had a supervisor telling me that he would never have a woman telling a man what to do." The DEP said it is investigating the complaint, which has been filed with the EEOC. Rodriguez said, "I just want the policies changed so that women have equal rights. I have no shower. She has no shower. We work in sewage. That's what we do all day."

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection is proposing a 14% hike to water and sewer rates, which would, according to the AP, raise an average single-family home's fees from $799 to $911 annually. Why? The DEP says there are higher operating costs and lower consumption from New Yorkers, not to mention the 5% budget cuts the city is forcing on agencies. Acting DEP Commissioner Steve Lawitts said, "We know an increase of any size is never easy - especially now." The Water Board will decide on whether to enact a hike later this spring. More details on water and sewer bills here and in 2007, the rate was raised 11.5%.

Yesterday afternoon, a Department of Environmental Protection employee was killed on the job at Brooklyn's Owls Head Waste Water Treatment plant. Gennaro Montello, 45, was crushed to death as he and other workers were moving a temporary conveyor belt—apparently the belt's steel supports fell off. The DEP and the state Labor Department are investigating the incident; according to the NY Times, the belt, which removed grit (sand, coffee grinds, etc.) from waste water, was a "34-foot-long and 3-foot-wide mobile device weighing several thousand pounds." Another worker was injured while trying to save Montello.Mayor Bloomberg said, "We typically only think of uniformed officers putting themselves on the line to serve the public. Today's accident is a tragic reminder of how many others serve our city in challenging environments and how our city could not run without them." Montello's neighbor spoke to NY1, "Very nice family. There's nothing I can say other than that. And what can I say? I feel so bad...It hurts me very much."

The Staten Island Advance reports that thieves, posing as NYC Department of Environmental Protection employees, are targeting senior citizens. Apparently the robbers claim they must "check pipes, read or fix water meters, or collect cash for unpaid water bills," and they have struck five times in the last two months of 2008, taking jewelry, cash and credit cards. The DEP says its employees wear uniforms, show ID and never ask for cash, "We want to alert the community that this is going on and people have to be very careful." According to the Advance, cops think the robbers are part of a "roving band that travels up and down the East Coast, stopping only long enough to accumulate a haul and then leaving for another town before they get caught."

The police released a sketch of a man claiming to be a Department of Environmental Protection inspector as he shakes down elderly people in Brooklyn. The suspect has apparently struck six times since August, telling victims that he will shut off their water if they do not pay. He is described by NY1 as a "dark-skinned man in his 40s or 50s," 5'6"-6' tall who wears a button-down shirt, tie, dress pants and a black baseball cap; he also shows a DEP badge. The DEP says their employees always wear a uniform and never ask for cash; it also says residents should ask for a number to call to make sure a visit is planned. Anyone with information should call CrimeStoppers at 800-577-TIPS or text 274637 and then enter TIP577.

The eight towering sludge digester eggs at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Greenpoint got even more sci-fi looking last night when the DEP flicked the switch on the new dramatic blue lights illuminating the 145 feet high structures. True to form, New York Shitty was there to get total coverage on the lighting ceremony.

With the weather warming, this will likely become less of a visible concern, but the City should also view the spring and summer as an opportunity to crack down on buildings who spew oily black smoke across the New York's skyline. The Gay Recluse has been concerned for some time about the cluster of chimneys in his Washington Heights neighborhood that spew plumes of noxious smoke into the air.