These work conditions stink.
Raw sewage flooded the basement of the Charles H. Gay Men’s Shelter on Wards Island, where employees have their locker rooms — and it isn’t the first time.
“It floods raw sewage — it happens every time there is a major rain event,” Derek Jackson, director of Teamsters Local 237’s law enforcement division, fumed over the foul problem.
Jackson’s union represents Department of Homeless Services peace officers who provide security at city shelters — and have had to put up with locker rooms strewn with feces, urine and toilet paper, he said, citing a previous flood that made headlines in 2015.
But that might change — after an inquiry from the Daily News, shelter operator HELP USA said it would try to find a new spot for the locker rooms.
“To be extra certain that the concerns of the DHS safety team are addressed, our staff will meet at the building tomorrow to try to find alternative space in the building to re-locate the locker room,” executive director George Nashak told the News by email.
That will likely be welcome news for those who work there, based on Jackson’s description of the floods — which in 2015 the shelter operators blamed on vandalism.
“These officers and employees who work there, they put the locker rooms on the ground floor and they have to deal with this smell. The smell is in their clothing. It’s diseased — people are getting sick,” he said.
“If you were ever allowed in with a camera to see what’s there, you would shiver. You would go home and disinfect yourself.”
Nashak, meanwhile, called last week’s situation “a minor back-up” that was resolved by a plumber the same day. The city also described it as a minor water back-up, and said plumbers found towels, shirts and soda cans in the locker room’s waste line. Despite the publicized floods in 2015, the city also said it was monitoring the area to figure out if was a one-time problem or related to rain.
“The DHSPD Peace Officers at Local 237 are essential partners in our effort to turn the tide on homelessness citywide, including by improving quality of life in shelter for clients and staff alike-and we are committed to working with them to ensure their workplace needs are met,” DHS spokesman Isaac McGinn said.
Jackson said the union had made the NYPD, which oversees shelter security, aware of the problem — but hadn’t had luck getting the locker room moved. But the city told the News the issue didn’t come up in a meeting between union brass and DHS Commissioner Steve Banks.
It’s not just his workers, Jackson said — food for the shelter’s clients are prepared one floor above the flood-prone spot, and the smell spreads through the building. He blasted the conditions.
“This is a familiar pattern in a lot of shelters in New York City, where there are sanitary conditions and smells and garbage and rodents and infestations of mice and fleas — you name it, it’s New York City’s shelter system,” Jackson said.
The city pointed to efforts to make faster repairs in shelters through its Shelter Repair Squad, which it says have reduced violations by 84% since January 2016.
