Failing heat and lead paint exposure at NYCHA developments have prompted the New York City Council to hold hearings to address these chronic issues.   On February 6th, two Local 237 representatives, Kevin Norman and Bertha Aiken, informed City Council Members of the critical role that NYCHA workers and their union seek to play in improving the conditions in which public housing residents live and members work.    

Local 237 Housing Division Director Kevin Norman testified, “This summer they [NYCHA] made their intentions clear, telling us that privatizing 69 boiler plants was the answer. We reviewed the request and the industry standard and responded that we could do it at half the cost internally, including new hires and advanced training to stay current with incoming systems.”  pdf < Read Norman’s Full Testimony > (55 KB)

Bertha Aiken, Director of Local 237’s Education Department, explained to Council Members, “We already have the program, the curriculum's set up and we're going to start in March.  I went ahead and decided to start the training without any further input from them because they were dragging their feet.” <More on Local 237's Education Dept.>

Local 237 Secretary-Treasurer Ruben Torres and Local 237 Recording Secretary and Political Director Patricia Stryker also attended the hearing.

Listen to the WNYC News Story, “At Root of NYCHA Heat Crisis: Lack of Technicians to Fix Aging Boilers.”