New York's MTA's East New York bus depot has been burdened by a problematic fire suppression system for over a year leading to soaring overtime costs. The agency has been struggling despite increasingly costly efforts to fix the issue. An internal overtime report demonstrates the enormity of the cost, with over $2.4 million spent solely on round-the-clock fire watch patrols within a single year to abide by fire code regulations.
MTA Chair, Janno Lieber, and head of NYC Transit, Rich Davey, both assert that despite ongoing malfunctioning systems, the facility is safe. Davey confessed that a working fire suppression system is preferable to expensive 24/7 fire watch. “It’s costing us money," Davey mentioned concerning the issue.
The agency has refused to specify the total expense of the ongoing patrols. Information reveals, however, that 19 depot employees have received overtime pay exceeding their contractual salary cap of $175,479 since June. The MTA has disbursed over $2.4 million above base salaries to these workers in the 52 weeks up to the report's creation. The list includes an electrician who made over triple his base salary of $83,200, totaling more than $254,800.
Questions have also arisen regarding whether the overtime shifts are adequately staffed, as well as if fire watch offers sufficient protection considering the depot's activities and abundance of flammable materials. Safety director of TWU Local 100, John Chiarello, is closely monitoring the situation. "This is nothing to sneeze about," Chiarello emphasized.
Despite persistent scrutiny, problems at the depot continue unabated. The facility's sprinkler system and fire alarm panels remain a challenge, and a repair deadline set by the state Department of Labor passed without resolution. Moreover, as recently as last week, "trouble" warning light displays continued on the fire panel alarms.
The agency pledges to prioritize the swift rehabilitation of the fire sprinklers. “NYC Transit will continue to have certified staff performing fire watch of the building until repairs can be made,” MTA spokesman Michael Cortez stated. The temporary remedy involves relining the defective pipes with epoxy, which they plan to complete before year's end. A long-term, more comprehensive solution will require vast replacement of the old plumbing and is likely to take longer.
Workers still express concerns about their safety as the fire suppression system problems persist. The sentiment of one veteran depot worker captures the overall worry. “If it was 2 Broadway,” he said, highlighting the disparity in responsiveness if issues were at MTA headquarters, "I guarantee you it would have been fixed."
