Contradictions abound at 66 John St.

• Administrative Law Judges rule on citizens’ complaints from the building’s 13th floor.
  Yet when these civil servants filed complaints about safety violations in their own workplace, management suggested that they needed mental health counseling to calm their post-9/11 nerves!
• The city Health Dept. — charged with protecting the public health —is among the agencies hit with citations for serious hazards in March by the state Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau.

The departments of Finance and Consumer Affairs also received violation notices. PESH pointed to a long list of hazards at 66 John St. that included obstructed fire exit doors, no emergency exit plans, stacked boxes and materials blocking fire sprinklers, and problems with the building’s public address systems.

The agencies were given until May 2 to abate or remedy the conditions. But rather than simply correcting the violations, the agencies stalled by requesting an informal conference to clarify the situation. It seems that the Dept. of Finance — the leaseholder of the properties, couldn’t locate the doors that were specified in the citations — the ones with the Fire Exit signs over them!

At the conference, DC 37 Safety and Health Director Lee Clarke expressed her amazement at the agency’s stonewalling: “They may be able to add, but they can’t read. It’s a four-letter-word — E-X-I-T. Haven’t we learned anything through the years?” she asked. “Apparently not, if we’re going to kick up such a storm over fire exits!”

Now PESH must give the agencies another written determination — extending once again the date for abatement. DC 37’s Safety and Health Dept. will then re-inspect the premises to see if management has complied.

As Ms. Clarke pointed out: “It’s an unsafe building. The whole thing could have been resolved when they first learned of the citations in March. Too much time has passed without action.”