Public Employee Press

Blast leaves union family homeless

Data Recording Assistant Becky Faison was sitting at her desk at 60 Centre St. when she heard an explosion had destroyed two buildings near her East Harlem apartment.

"I watched it on TV and thought all was fine for me," said the Local 1070 member. "But when I got home I was in for a shock." Her apartment across from the blasted buildings was wrecked.

The buildings at 1644 and 1646 Park Ave. exploded early March 12, sending 70 people to local hospitals. Eight died. The cause: gas that leaked from a 127-year-old pipe beneath the street, officials said.

Faison's living room windows were shattered. Smoke and broken glass and water were everywhere. In an instant, her life changed. She was homeless, her family - Becky and her two daughters - displaced.

Little could be salvaged. Her furniture and clothing were ruined. "There was just too much glass and smoke," she said. "It is overwhelming."

Aid from the Red Cross, DC 37's Personal Services Unit and Local 1070 buffered the blow, Faison said, and her co-workers at the 60 Centre St. courthouse took up a collection.

Faison decided to stay with friends rather than go into a shelter. Her elder daughter Lenora is at another friend's home, and daughter Fredashia is a student at Farmingdale State College on Long Island. "When she came home for spring break," Faison said, "everything she had and knew was gone. She did not want to go into the building."

The blown-up buildings faced the elevated Metro North tracks. "If a train had been coming by, there would have been even more devastation," said Faison.

It may be two months before repairs to Faison's apartment are completed and the building is safe to reoccupy.

"It was a shock. It's devastating, heart wrenching. I am so sad for the lives lost," she said. "It's hard to put into words. This could happen to anyone.

"We are trying to regroup. I'm taking one day at a time, piecing our lives back together to have normalcy for my family," Faison said. "I appreciate having good friends and great support from my co-workers. I am truly grateful."

— Diane S. Williams