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Public
Employee Press
Museum makeover
Local 1502 members shape up Brooklyn Museum
after its $63 million extreme facelift
By DIANE S. WILLIAMS
Some accept aging with grace. Others opt to have a little work done. When
the grand dame of New York art halls, the Brooklyn Museum, needed a facelift,
private architects planned and executed a $63 million extreme makeover.
The 19th century Beaux-Arts building underwent massive reconstruction
to add an 80,000 square-foot plaza and a new multistory pavilion of glass,
granite and steel that was unveiled in April. While Polshek Partnership
Architects developed the four-year construction project, it takes members
of DC 37s Local 1502 to transform the intimidating limestone landmark
into a welcoming community space.
Vibrant space
Now a fountain by WET Design, which created the Bellagio waterworks in
Las Vegas, sprays 60 feet into the air. A calming reflecting pool and
an amphitheater have replaced the original imposing staircase. Twelve
original brick piers anchor the glass and steel atrium and tie the old
structure to the new, and for the 21st century community, the outdoor
civic space is wired for the Internet.
Model
emergency plan
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Model
emergency plan
In addition to its attractive $63 million face-lift, the
Brooklyn Museum has recently put in place a model action
plan to save lives in emergencies.
In February, PEP reported that more than 2 years after 9/11,
many city agencies still had no plans for dealing with disaster.
But the Brooklyn Museum was working hard to ensure that
all employees get training and needed materials are readily
accessible.
By April, the museum issued a memo to all employees describing
procedures to follow in case of heightened security. The
institution also produced a Bomb Threat Data Card, designed
to fit under staff telephones where it is easy to get to
and ready to use. Recently, the Museum published an Emergency
Procedures Handbook for employees. It covers everything
from chemical spills to floods to explosions and more. The
handbook includes procedures for employee evacuations and
an evacuation map.
Safety Coordinator Russell Johnson, of DC 37s Safety
and Health Dept., gives the museum high marks for its compliance
with the urgent requirement of establishing emergency action
plans. Not only did they produce the
materials and procedures, but they also review the materials
with the staff as they go through various training exercises,
said Mr. Johnson.
JLT
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Local 1502 members readily welcome
the museums 800,000 visitors year round. The museum has come
to life, said Local 1502 President Melvin Bentley. It was
virtually unused, but under the new director, Arnold Lehman, the space
is rejuvenated with edgy exhibits and First Saturdays. The local
represents 200 DC 37 members in the boroughs cultural triad
the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Childrens Museum, and the Brooklyn
Museum, which is home to the second largest art collection in America.
Instead of white space, the
interiors, which are painted three times a year, are awash in deep hues
of aqua, coral, cobalt, midnight and plum to bring more vibrancy into
the space, explained Michael Allen, a Supervising Art Handler in
the museums American Painters and Sculptors Dept.
Local 1502 members are responsible
for the ever-changing rotation of art and environment. Painters bring
color to the museums interiors. Carpenters erect and dismantle display
rooms. Art Handlers maintain installations of ancient artifacts from Egypt,
prized Renoir paintings, Rodin sculptures and antique tapestries. They
carefully crate rare art for touring exhibits. Maintainers run the computerized
climate control system in the bowels of the 560,000 square foot museum,
where temperatures hover near 95 degrees.
Settled between the Botanic Gardens and verdant Prospect
Park, the museum presides over Eastern Parkway, which was modeled after
the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Now the Brooklyn Museum is home to social
events weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other community celebrations.
These occasions put about $8,000 a year in overtime pay into pockets of
many Local 1502 members, Mr. Bentley said.
Local 1502 members worked seven days a week to prep for the grand scale
re-opening. What makes this job most interesting is seeing all the
art all day long, said Art Handler Keith Vanloo. Were
very careful, as if this were our home. The objects are so valuable and
the museum is a beautiful place to work.
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