Public Employee Press

Tool time
DC 37 members run a smooth operation at the Parks Dept.’s
Queens Maintenance and Operation Storehouse

By DIANE S. WLLIAMS

Thanks to the ingenuity of Mike Zeno and his crew of four union members from Locals 1505, 1508, and 983, the Parks Department’s Queens Maintenance and Operation Storehouse runs like a well-oiled machine.

Five-and-a-half years ago, the Queens storehouse was a shambles. Management assigned 22-year Parks Dept. veteran Zeno, who currently is president of Uniformed Park Supervisors Local 1508, the task of getting it organized. Zeno and Local 1505 members Elido Rivas, Jr. and Nancy Santana, and Stock Worker Mike Spofford, worked with Borough Fiscal Director Maryjane O’Brien and made it their goal to gain better control over their work environment.

The Queens storehouse facility stocks all the hand tools: rakes, shovels, and brooms used to maintain parks and Green Streets throughout the borough. Games, balls and arts and crafts for the borough’s recreation division, volunteer and job training programs supplies are also stored there.

“The inventory included an overabundance of some items and not enough of others,” Zeno said of the storage facility that stretches along half a city block. “So we reorganized all the small equipment and logged it into a computerized inventory tracking system,” he said. “Now we have a record of every item that comes in and out of this place.”

In-house repair shop, JTP training
Additionally, each week the DC 37 members issue Parks Dept. uniforms to new crews of Jobs Training Program participants who work in a six-month, federally funded work program. DC 37 organized and represents the JTPs, andExecutive Director Lillian Roberts works to find them regular city and HHC jobs as their six months expire.

“We sign them in and fit them for their uniforms, work gloves, boots, caps, jackets, tee shirts and sweatshirts on their first day,” Zeno said. “We train them to operate the small equipment — some have never seen a weed whacker before — and teach them that safety comes first.”

Eighteen months ago Zeno convinced the borough to create an in-house repair shop. Now two Local 1505 members, Elido Rivas, Jr. and Danny Dlugokenski, do minor repairs and service about 1,000 pieces of small equipment.

“This has created jobs that save the city a ton of money in repair costs,” said Blue Collar Council Rep Bob Gervasi. The major repairs are transported to the Five Borough repair shop by an Associate Parks Service Worker in Local 983.

The in-house repair shop also has reduced the amount of out-of-service equipment by 75 percent. “Organizing this storehouse took a lot of thought, planning and time,” said Zeno, “but now the facility is a model program.”