City investigators have uncovered stunning new evidence that a NYCHA worker may have died after being struck by a dangerous trash hoist.
The Department of Investigation report released Wednesday contradicts NYCHA’s claim that Toni Jackson’s death resulted from heart problems completely unrelated to issues with the equipment.
The DOI’s findings prompted the president of Teamsters Local 237, Jackson’s union, to ask the Brooklyn district attorney’s office to open an investigation into a possible coverup in the death. Brooklyn DA Kenneth Thompson had no immediate comment.
Initial reports from the New York City Housing Authority said that Jackson, 31, a janitor for the agency, was discovered March 7 partially inside an archaic metal device used to haul trash from the basement of the Coney Island Houses in Brooklyn.
The medical examiner ruled the cause of death “cardiac arrhythmia complicating second degree atrioventricular block. The manner of death is natural.”
After the Daily News and Local 237 raised questions about her death, NYCHA officials doubled down, stating, “Our internal review found no connection between the equipment and the loss of caretaker Toni Jackson. Today’s report from the medical examiner confirmed that her cause of death was natural. There is no evidence linking her death to a faulty hoist or a head injury.”
The DOI report does not directly blame the hoist, saying, “Because DOI does not have independent forensic pathology expertise, we are unable to find that the deficient condition of the Coney Island Houses Building 1 garbage hoist caused Ms. Jackson’s death.”
But it does reveal new evidence that the poorly maintained hoist, which is akin to a dumbwaiter, could have fallen on Jackson’s head while she was trying to operate it.
The DOI report quotes emergency medical technician Joseph LaPorte as saying that when he arrived, he discovered Jackson’s “head was pinned between two metal bars and that she was bleeding from her mouth area.”
LaPorte told DOI investigators that Jackson “could not be removed due to the pressure of the hoist resting on her head.”
The report from DOI Commissioner Mark Peters also reveals for the first time that the medical examiner had discovered a 2-inch-by-2-inch contusion on the back of Jackson’s neck and small hemorrhages in the posterior muscles of her neck.
The medical examiner’s report did not mention this.
DOI’s reported noted that while the ME found no skull fracture or scalp lacerations, “there was bruising to the back of her neck — findings consistent with the possibility that Ms. Jackson was caught in the garbage hoist at the time of her death.”
Local 237 President Greg Floyd alleged the medical examiner “clearly skirted the issue of the head trauma, her position and how she was found in that hoist. And the chairwoman of the New York City Housing Authority has gone along with this falsehood. It’s disgraceful.”
The DOI report says the possibility that Jackson was caught in the hoist “is also supported by the fact that at the time of a post hoc site inspection by DOI, a pole sometimes used by workers at Building 1 to knock loose the hoist car when it was stuck was out of arm’s reach and thus was likely not used by Ms. Jackson at the time of the incident.”
A NYCHA spokesperson responded Wednesday, stating, “The safety of our workers is a top priority for NYCHA, and the DOI report confirms OCME’s finding that the hoist did not cause Toni Jackson’s death.”
NYCHA declined to address the other findings in the report.
On April 6, the day The News reported on issues with the hoists and the circumstances of Jackson’s death, DOI sent investigators to the Coney Island Houses.
Jackson had been assigned to bring trash up from the basement via the hoist, a rusting relic in which a metal cage was hauled via a chain on a motor-driven winch.
The device dates to the 1950s and repeatedly breaks down. The union says workers — including Jackson — were never trained how to use it, and it would suddenly reverse direction when the chain got stuck.
DOI interviewed several workers who were present the day Jackson died, including NYCHA Supervisor Angel Castillo.
Castillo said he “observed Ms. Jackson in the ‘far corner of the hoist’ and ‘in a squatting position'” with her head inside the hoist cage. The cage appeared to be stalled halfway, indicating it had become stuck.
A second worker, Aaron Rivera, said he was not sure if Jackson’s head was above or below the bar of the cage, but that the hoist car “was definitely halfway down.”
Castillo said he was reluctant to move the cage to extricate Jackson because he “didn’t want to chop her head off.” He called 911 and reported “employee looks pinned in the hoist.”
The DOI report also makes clear that the hoists — 66 in all at 12 developments — are dangerous and need to be replaced.
“This tragic incident has highlighted a systemic threat to the safety of NYCHA employees that was created by the use and condition of 66 antiquated and poorly maintained garbage hoists at 12 NYCHA developments.”
DOI said in the days after Jackson’s death, NYCHA’s Office of Safety and Security inspected all 66 garbage hoists and “determined that each of the garbage hoists is in similarly poor condition and recommended that all of the hoists remain out of service.”
DOI sent its findings to NYCHA Chairwoman Shola Olatoye Monday. On Wednesday a spokesperson noted the DOI report “confirms NYCHA’s assessment from March on the need to upgrade NYCHA’s hoists to ensure safety. All hoists continue to remain out of service as we review design, modifications and costs to enhance equipment safety, and Operations department is additionally developing comprehensive training and maintenance procedures for when the equipment is upgraded. The DOI report also confirmed NYCHA’s assessment of the hoists.”
