Super! November 2005 The newsletter of the Superintendents Technical Association, Inc. Promoting excellence in apartment building operation and maintenance Through education, training and public information Promover excelencia en la operacin y el mantenimiento de edificio de apartamento Con la educacin, entrenamiento e informacin del pœblico Calendar 2005 Date Topic and Speaker 11- 23 (Wed.) Combined meeting in the Bronx: Workshop on Integrated Pest Management. 12-16 (Friday, 5:30 to?) Holiday party at the Times Square ALL WELCOME. Directions to Novembers meeting on page 5. Note on Membership : STA membership entitles you to all the privileges of membership at any meeting, whether in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, etc. All persons are invited to attend meetings free. But: Certificates of Attendance are issued only to members. Come and get to know us! Dont Miss Novembers IPM Workshop! In November, ALL MEMBERS AND GUESTS will meet ONLY at Hostos Community College in the Bronx for a workshop on Integrated Pest Management. The room is C-557, on the fifth floor (2 flights up from the cafeteria) in building 450 Grand Concourse. This is a hot topic. The old system of spraying poison around the kitchen and bathroom is out! Supers and managers should know the new methods and what to expect when the licensed pest control contractor comes into your buildings. All are welcome at no charge. However only members will receive certificates but membership applications will be received at the meeting. What this Training Is All About The IPM (Integrated Pest Management) workshop is part of a project undertaken by the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene - Asthma Initiative. The purpose of the project is to promote Integrated Pest Management practices in the city in order to reduce both the levels of pest activity (mainly mice and cockroaches) as well as the safe use of pesticides. Cockroaches and mice create powerful allergens which can be very harmful to people with asthma. Traditional pest control practices are often unsuccessful in solving pest problems, while the pesticides used in them can create their own health issues. Integrated Pest Management is a set of tools which has proven very successful in reducing pest levels while minimizing the use of pesticides. The workshops explains what is IPM, the reasons for using IPM, the relationship between pests and asthma, and, more importantly, the workshop trains participants in very practical ways of implementing IPM. The workshop on November 16th will be conducted by Avinoam Heller, CEO of Healthy Nest, which specializes in reducing the levels of allergens and asthma triggers in the home. . Healthy Nest (www.Healthy-Nest.com) is currently working with the citys Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on an IPM project in the Bronx. As part of this project Healthy Nest has already completed in depth IPM interventions in more than 150 apartments. Welcome New Members STA is pleased to announce the election of the following individuals:Shangab Abdulaziz, David Amann, Paul Battaglia, David Felson, Ahmed A. Hari, Alex Paban, Calvert Wallace. And thanks to all of you who recently renewed your membership. Candidates Wanted! The STA Board of Directors will meet shortly to review the membership of our Executive Committee and to make any changes indicated. This is an excellent time if YOU feel like stepping up to the plate. You have to be an STA member and like working alongside of others who do good work and count our progress as our compensation! Send your nomination to me, please. Dick Koral, Supers Club, 300 Jay St H4, Brooklyn, NY 11201 or [email protected].
Transcript
Super! November 2005
The newsletter of the Superintendents Technical Association, Inc. Promoting excellence in apartment building operation and maintenance Through education, training and public information Promover excelencia en la operación y el mantenimiento de edificio de apartamento Con la educación, entrenamiento e información del público
Calendar 2005
Date Topic and Speaker 11- 23 (Wed.) Combined meeting in the Bronx:
Workshop on Integrated Pest Management. 12-16 (Friday, 5:30 to?) Holiday party at the Times
Square ALL WELCOME. Directions to November�s meeting on page 5. Note on Membership: STA membership entitles you to all the privileges of membership at any meeting, whether in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, etc. All persons are invited to attend meetings free. But: Certificates of Attendance are issued only to members. Come and get to know us! Don�t Miss November�s IPM Workshop! In November, ALL MEMBERS AND GUESTS will meet ONLY at Hostos Community College in the Bronx for a workshop on Integrated Pest Management. The room is C-557, on the fifth floor (2 flights up from the cafeteria) in building 450 Grand Concourse. This is a hot topic. The old system of spraying poison around the kitchen and bathroom is out! Supers and managers should know the new methods and what to expect when the licensed pest control contractor comes into your buildings. All are welcome at no charge. However only members will receive certificates but membership applications will be received at the meeting. What this Training Is All About The IPM (Integrated Pest Management) workshop is part of a project undertaken by the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene - Asthma Initiative. The purpose of the project is to promote Integrated Pest Management practices in the city in order to reduce both the levels of pest activity (mainly mice and cockroaches) as well as the safe use of pesticides.
Cockroaches and mice create powerful allergens which can be very harmful to people with asthma. Traditional pest control practices are often unsuccessful in solving pest problems, while the pesticides used in them can create their own health issues. Integrated Pest Management is a set of tools which has proven very successful in reducing pest levels while minimizing the use of pesticides. The workshops explains what is IPM, the reasons for using IPM, the relationship between pests and asthma, and, more importantly, the workshop trains participants in very practical ways of implementing IPM. The workshop on November 16th will be conducted by Avinoam Heller, CEO of Healthy Nest, which specializes in reducing the levels of allergens and asthma triggers in the home. . Healthy Nest (www.Healthy-Nest.com) is currently working with the city�s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on an IPM project in the Bronx. As part of this project Healthy Nest has already completed in depth IPM interventions in more than 150 apartments.
Welcome New Members STA is pleased to announce the election of the following individuals:Shangab Abdulaziz, David Amann, Paul Battaglia, David Felson, Ahmed A. Hari, Alex Paban, Calvert Wallace. And thanks to all of you who recently renewed your membership.
Candidates Wanted! The STA Board of Directors will meet shortly to review the membership of our Executive Committee and to make any changes indicated. This is an excellent time if YOU feel like stepping up to the plate. You have to be an STA member and like working alongside of others who do good work and count our progress as our compensation! Send your nomination to me, please. Dick Koral, Supers Club, 300 Jay St � H4, Brooklyn, NY 11201 or [email protected].
2Winterizing Your Heating System: A Report from STA�s October Meetings By Glen Stoltz WORKFORCE TURNOVER in the New York City residential building support field is very high, as we know. Quite often a super is in a job for a short period before moving on to greener pastures; job life expectancy for property managers is also low. The same can be said for your building�s hired mechanics. Your on-call mechanic this year may be deemed incompetent, too expensive, or otherwise inferior for your building�s maintenance next year, simply due to a personnel change - on their side or yours. This brings up a common predicament for New York City supers of residential buildings, although it�s little understood, discussed even less. The problem can be described like this: Let�s say the wind chill is 15 below zero on a Saturday night in February. Your residents start calling to complain that it�s colder inside than outside. You check the system but cannot quickly pinpoint the problem. On-call is called on and comes out, finding that your heating unit�s igniter has failed. All that�s needed is a fifteen minute replacement job. Heat and hot water restored, everyone goes home happy. Nope - only in a perfect world or in your sweetest dreams! Since the breakdown occurs on a weekend night the mechanic can�t run to the nearest supply house and pick up what he needs, and he doesn�t carry that particular part on the truck. With dozens of different boiler makes and models and many different parts for each, it happens. What to do? What is often done is that whatever is on hand that fits will be installed - and will at least temporarily do the job for the interim. Fine. But here�s the second twist. Because people sometimes get careless and forget, interim becomes long term, and long term has a nasty habit of morphing into forever. Now flash forward to the end of forever when that same part needs to be replaced again. One of two things happens. Either the mechanic has it on hand or he goes to pick up the exact replacement part � even though it�s the wrong one, now used for years, and no one has bothered to learn that it isn�t the proper replacement part � or he again finds something, anything, to get you past one more crisis. That new but incorrect replacement part could be better for overall efficiency than the old one � or it could also be much worse. The important thing is to get the boiler going and bring the temperature back up to a pre-torture intensity. Years down the road that part needs to be replaced yet again and the mistake is repeated. Bad information
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keeps repeating itself, in some cases getting worse, and over the years an old boiler will operate much less efficiently that originally designed for this reason alone - never mind that it is archaic, decrepit, outdated. The preceding scenario is a good reason, said Jeff Eichenwald, October�s main speaker at our three meetings, to urge each super to gather together pertinent information about all his building�s equipment into one place. (See �Here�s What to Do� below.) After pizza and sodas, members and guests at STA�s three monthly meetings, one each in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, were treated to a greatly condensed version of the 30 hour heating course Jeff Eichenwald teaches at HCC (Housing Conservation Coordinators, www.hcc-nyc.org ) several times a year. Further information on the burner/boiler course taught by Jeff at HCC is found on the Announcements page of our website at www.nycsta.org. (Go to next page)
3Jeff is STA�s Director of Education and a long time teacher and heating consultant who has taught for many organizations, including Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB), The Enterprise Foundation and NYS Weatherization Program. Here�s What to Do The plan Jeff recommends is to assemble all your mechanical information together in a 3-ring binder � boiler, hot water heater, circulation pumps, a/c units, cooling tower, all your building equipment�s information. Spend some time in your mechanical room with pencil and paper and take down all make, model and serial numbers and gather together manuals for every piece of equipment. If the manual for that 30 year old boiler in your basement was tossed out 20 years before you came on the scene, you can go to the manufacturer�s website for information. Generally this information is downloadable as a PDF file, which means quite simply that what you see on-screen will look exactly like the original document, as will printing it out. Alternatively you can search for the company�s business phone or toll-free number to call for your equipment�s guides. Jeff Eichenwald gave a dedicated super group of supers a list of items on which to work to increase effectiveness, whether the system is steam or hot water, and was peppered with questions from the audience. There was discussion on proper venting of one- and two-pipe steam systems, and on controls such as the Heat-Timer, which add nuance and complexity to your system. If the rest of your system is working as intended, your properly tweaked Heat-Timer will give you happier, more contented residents and more restful winter nights. Attendees at any one of these three meetings were given the inside track on the most important system areas on which to concentrate for greater fuel efficiency. Very useful handouts* were provided, full of information which any super can put to use immediately. In the span of an hour and a half there was much more learned than is possible to restate in detail here. This is only a teaser. All attendees will be mailed a certificate. The end result was a very instructive and helpful conversation on what the average super can do to make your system deliver heat to the right place at the right time while increasing fuel efficiency, and in the process become a better than average super. Glen Stoltz is our Webmaster (www.nycSTA.org.) *If you are a member of the Superintendents Technical Association and missed the meeting(s), I will make a copy of the handouts and mail them to you. Call me at 718-552-1161 or email me at [email protected]. Dick Koral
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Affordable Housing Needs in NYC (From ANHD Reader, Sept.16,2005) A report by Housing First, a coalition of housing advocates, looks at what it would take to solve the city�s housing crisis. Despite a real estate boom in New York, the citywide vacancy rate is the lowest in 15 years. Nearly a quarter of renters pay more than 50% of their incomes for housing and 23% of all renters � more than 725,000 people � live in overcrowded apartments. This ten-year plan calls for $10 billion in spending for housing. The full report is available at www.housingfirst.net/pdfs/HF_Policy_Update0805.pdf.
ONE SUPER LIFE Tales from the Tripped By John Tripp
Hots or Hates "I did not attend his funeral; but I wrote a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain SEVERAL LIFETIMES AGO I had a porter who was an elegant workhorse. He always came to work fifteen minutes early, hardly ever took a sick day, and honestly didn't seem to like taking vacations. He sometimes worked through at least part of his lunch break, and was always there when he was needed, always easy to find, always cheerful and friendly and open, always looking to see how he could be helpful. Working circles around the other staff members, he didn't need to be coached, ordered, or supervised, or pushed into getting work done. I could depend on Melvin to do what needed to be done without my asking, or telling him. He was a dream come true, and a delight to work alongside. I had a resident in that same lifetime, who, shortly after moving in, developed an irrational emotional attachment to Melvin. Out of the blue she started hating Melvin. Elsie, it was soon learned, was pregnant, her hormones raging. When Melvin delivered a package or
6cleaning to her apartment, she was as likely to scream at him as anything. She blamed Melvin when a contractor two floors up started making noise too early for her in the morning. She blamed Melvin when the cleaning didn't include all of the items she had been expecting. (Kind of reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw on the highway once. It read: I don't have PMS - I just really hate you.) She was a nightmare. Melvin became nervous around her. (Who wouldn't?) He was petrified by her rages, and began to decline to deliver dry cleaning or packages to her apartment anymore. We worked around it. We hoped it was only because she was pregnant, and things would get better post-partum. In the meantime, we decided that all we could do to help was to keep the two as far away from each other as we could. "Everything is funny, as long as it's happening to somebody else." - Will Rogers <http://www.annabelle.net/topics/author.php?firstname=Will&lastname=Rogers> The weird thing is, it seemed it was only Melvin that Elsie chose to loathe. She was an angel to the rest of us. I couldn't figure out how such a sweetie could be so nasty, all wrapped up in the same package. It was truly like she was two people. It seemed there was nothing that Melvin did to bring it on, except to exist, to be. And long after the baby was through the terrible twos, she still showed her negative emotional attachment to Melvin. There is no accounting for taste, as the saying goes. There is also no accounting or explanation for emotional attachments of the positive or negative kind in some people, at certain times. Ever wonder why it is that someone suddenly falls in love with someone in a totally improper situation? It might have happened to you as a teen, or since adult-hood. Or to someone you know, or knew in the distant past. No matter how inappropriate or damaging it can potentially be, it seems that some folks cannot help themselves, they just fall in love with someone, what I call developing "irrational hots" for somebody else. We see this all the time where a supposedly happily married person suddenly develops an infatuation with a person not their spouse and all hell breaks loose in their established relationship. It's the same way with the hates. No matter how dumb or irrational or destructive it might be to themselves, their families, or others, there are times when someone will develop an irrational and inexplicable hate or extreme dislike for someone else. "Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian."
- Dennis Wholey There's nothing that the victim, or anyone around the victim, can do to talk him or her out of that sentiment. Since it's irrational, it cannot be explained, nor can it be justified. Nor can it be changed if it cannot be seen by the perpetrator. It just is, and it's all too real. It seems impossible to deal with, it's unfair, it's unjust, perverse, troubling. How do you deal with such an illogical and unreasonable emotion, whether it's directed at you or at one of your staff? The first thing to realize is this: to the extent that the person on the receiving end has done nothing wrong to deserve such irrational, ignorant, unjustified hate, there is nothing that can be done to ameliorate it. That is to say: if it's irrational, there�s no reason for it. If there's no reason for it, there�s no direct way to combat it. There is an adage to the effect that time heals all wounds. Of course it isn't really time that does it. The human creature is such a resilient living thing that in time we heal anyway, some times despite ourselves. There are many ways to deal with an irrational emotion directed at you or your people. One is simply to say, "I don't care what you think of me, it bothers me but I will go on doing my job no matter what." Almost as if to say: If I can achieve notoriety by being hated by the right people, what's that say about them? Like a badge of honor, it may be something in which to take a perverse pride. "This is courage in a man: to bear unflinchingly what heaven sends." - Euripedes <http://www.annabelle.net/topics/author.php?firstname=&lastname=Euripedes> Which, in some ways, is exactly what Melvin did. He tried to avoid her, because to have invective and blame hurled at you day after day for just doing your job is a huge emotional drain. But he never lost his concentration, never stopped doing his job. Since there was nothing he did to deserve the treatment, he just kept on going as if it wasn't happening. Didn't lash out, didn't strike back. Just kept on keeping on, doing his job. To keep on doing your job, and doing it well, right through adverse treatment, now that's the essence of real character. We all get this to a certain extent at some point or other in our lives; I think supers and other building support personnel in New York City get it more than those in many other service sectors. I get frustrated and discouraged at times and wish to quit, to give up, to stop slogging on and working through the criticism. It can really work for you to have a thick skin in this vocation, because in a mid-level management job such
7as this, you are quite often given great responsibility yet have little real power. Consequently, you get the blame for things you have no power to change. You must often look to, and wait patiently (or impatiently) for, others to come to a decision. In many cases you have to wait for someone else to make a decision about the bigger picture before you can make a lesser decision that really should have been made yesterday, or last week, or even last year. I wonder sometimes if I have skin of sufficient thickness to keep on. I get discouraged and disheartened and wonder, at least momentarily, if I'm in the right business. But keeping on, my friends, is exactly what we must do. Even when you get the blame for something for which you have no responsibility. Even when you feel like you never get the recognition for your loyalty, for your honesty, for your great work ethic, for work above and beyond the call of duty, for a particular job well done, even when you get only blame for someone else's decision that was less than well made. "To be loved is to be fortunate, but to be hated is to achieve distinction." - Minna Antrim <http://www.annabelle.net/topics/author.php?firstname=Minna&lastname=Antrim> Even when the hatred or revulsion or disgust or distaste or aversion or loathing or abhorrence toward you or one of your crew is palpable, and no matter how illogical or unreasonable or difficult or perverse or unjust, this is not the time to quit. Think about it all you want, talk about it if you must, but don�t do it! This is exactly the time to step back up to the plate, to gain new resolve, and take another crack at bat.
Do you know any undocumented maintenance workers? Many undocumented immigrants each year look forward to applying for the Diversity Visa Lottery , which would allow them to stay in the country legally. Persons seeking to enter the lottery program must register online through the designated Internet web site during the registration period. The web site for registering for the 2007 Diversity Visa Lottery (http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/) is available from October 5, 2005 through noon December 4, 2005.
Janitorial Services in the Housing Maintenance Code (Excerpt from SUBCHAPTER 2 MAINTENANCE, SERVICES, AND UTILITIES
ARTICLE 13: Janitorial Services Sec. 27-2052 Definitions: When used in this article: (a) Janitorial services means: cleaning and maintenance, including the making of minor repairs; the furnishing of heat and hot water, where supplied from a central source; the removal of garbage, refuse, ashes and wastes from the premises; and the removal of snow, ice. dirt and other matter from the sidewalk and gutter. (b) Janitor means a person employed to perform janitorial services. Sec. 27-2053 Obligations of owner a. The owner of a multiple dwelling shall provide adequate janitorial services. b. In a multiple dwelling of nine or more dwelling units, the owner shall either: (1) perform the janitorial services himself or herself, if he or she is a resident owner; or (2) provide a janitor; or (3) provide for janitorial services to be performed on a 24 hour-a-day basis in a manner approved by the department. c. The owner of a multiple dwelling or his or her managing agent in control shall post and maintain in such dwelling a legible sign, conspicuously displayed, containing the janitor's name, address (including apartment number) and telephone number. A new identification sign shall be posted and maintained within five days following a change of janitor. Sec. 27-2054 Residence of person performing janitorial services; limitation on number of dwelling units served The person who performs janitorial services for a multiple dwelling of nine or more dwelling units (other than where janitorial services are performed on a twenty-four hour-a-day basis under paragraph three of subdivision (b) of section 27-2053 of this article) shall reside in or within a distance of one block or two hundred feet from the dwelling, whichever is greater, unless the owner resides in the multiple dwelling. Where two or three multiple dwellings are connected or adjoining, it shall be sufficient, however, that the person who performs janitorial services resides in one of these, but no person who performs janitorial services for more than one multiple dwelling may service more than sixty-five dwelling units. Regardless of residence the janitor must have a telephone where the janitor may reasonably be expected to be reached. Sec. 27-2055 Certification of competency a. Except as provided in subdivision (b) of this section, the owner who is required to employ a janitor shall certify in writing to the department that such owner's janitor is competent to perform janitorial services required to be performed by this article in a competent fashion and is capable of operating the incinerator and the furnace, boiler and other machinery that provides central heat and hot water. The owner shall submit a new certificate of the janitor's competency to the department no later than sixty days after hiring a new janitor.
8b. No such certification shall be required concerning a janitor who has satisfactorily completed a course of not less than fifteen hours given or approved by the department of buildings in the basic skills required for the performance of janitorial services. Such course should include, but need not be limited to, instruction on operation of the central heating plant; replacement of the smoke pipe from the furnace to the chimney; and the making of necessary minor repairs, such as replacement of washers and water faucets. Courses approved by the department of buildings may be offered by a school, association, labor union or other public agency. c. This section shall become effective on June thirteenth, nineteen hundred sixty-eight. For more information: New York City Rent Guidelines Board, 51 Chambers St., Suite 202, New York, NY 10007. Phone: 212-385-2934 | email: [email protected] The Superintendents Technical Association is a 501(c)(3) New York State corporation. Pres. Peter Grech: (212) 353-0794 [email protected] VP.Gene Marabello: (516) 467-4364 [email protected] Manhat. Chapter Pres. Peter Roach [email protected] Manhattan VP: Zoltan Papp: zpapp @nyc.rr.com Bronx Chapter Pres. Roberto Cardona : (718) 824-8208 [email protected] Dir. of Operations: Janet Leon: (212) 255-1379 Dir. of Training: Jeff Eichenwald: (917) 656-2954 [email protected] Fred Ripley: (646) 229-3384 Keith Williams: 917-826-0216 Secretary-Treasurer and Newsletter Editor: Dick Koral, NYC College of Technology, 300 Jay St � H4, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 552-1161 Fax:-1191 [email protected] Web Site www.nycSTA.org Webmaster Glen Stoltz: (917) 237-1471 gstoltz @bigplanet.com
Superintendents Technical Association, Inc.
Join or Renew Your Membership for 2005 Now!
Enjoy the prestige of belonging to the first technical society of multifamily building maintenance personnel. By joining now, you become a member of an organization that is gaining a national reputation. Carry the membership card that shows you are engaged in life-long learning to achieve excellence in your profession. Networking: Members helping members Membership Categories with Annual Dues A. Voting Members: Superintendents, Directors of Maintenance → $50, Handypersons, Porters → $25 B. Associate Members: Managers →$100. Owners, co-op board members, professionals (various) → $75. Corporate e.g., management companies → $225 Vendors of goods and services →$375 (Includes a free business card size ad each month in Super!, our newsletter.) HOW TO JOIN OR RENEW Please complete this form, attach check payable to: Superintendents Technical Assn. and mail to: Superintendents Technical Association, 300 Jay St.� H4, Brooklyn, NY 11201 ___ Enroll me ___Renew my membership) in the Supers Club. I am a (please check one): Voting Members: ___ Superintendent ___ Director of Maintenance __ Handyperson ___ Porter Your Name: ___________________________________ Street Address: ______________________Apt. _______ City: _______________State: _____ ZIP_____________ Day Tel: (________) ________ _________ *E-mail: ____________________@_______________
_______ I prefer to receive Super! by e-mail. (Electronic Edition) SEE ARTICLE STARTING NEXT PAGE:
9Air Pollution in New York
by Gail Robinson, Gotham Gazette, Sept 19, 2005 SEPTEMBER IN NEW YORK marks the start of school, the opening of new plays, movies, and exhibitions -- and the end of the so-called ozone season, when television weather people warn anyone with respiratory problems to stay inside to avoid breathing the noxious air.
The last one comes as a particular relief this year after a summer when high temperatures raised the levels of hazardous ozone in the air, making New Yorkers wheeze, cough -- and try to stay indoors. Despite improvements over the past decades, New York's air still ranks among the unhealthiest in the nation. Recognizing this -- and faced with a federal deadline to clean up the air by 2010 -- the city and state governments have taken steps to address the problem. This month, the City Council passed a law requiring environmentally sound construction for city buildings, and the Taxi and Limousine Commission voted to allow hybrid cabs -- cars powered by electricity, as well as gasoline.
While environmentalists laud such efforts, they believe that more can -- and should -- be done. And with air not respecting boundaries created by humans, the purity of New York's environment is affected not only by decisions made here but by actions taken by power plant executives in the Midwest, auto manufacturers around the world, and politicians in Washington. With that in mind, many New York activists and politicians have put much of their recent efforts into trying to save federal clean air regulations. Failing to do so, they believe, puts the health of New Yorkers and the very future of the city at risk. What Makes the Air Dirty
With no steel mills and few factories, New York gets most of its pollution from diesel truck and bus exhaust, cars, and power plants. It consists of three major components: smog, soot and greenhouse gases: Smog: The term originally came from combining the words "smoke" and "fog," and and referred to visibly dirty air polluted by the burning of coal and oil, which produces soot and ash.
Today's smog, which prompts those health alerts on steamy days, forms when nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons released into the atmosphere interact with one another, often because of sunlight, heat and stagnant air. The major component of smog is ozone. Ninety percent of all New York State residents live in areas that fail to meet the clean air standard for ozone, and according to the American Lung Association's State of the Air: 2005 report, the New York metropolitan area has the ninth worst level of ozone pollution in the country, with residents of Queens and Staten Island facing the most serious risk. Breathing in ozone can irritate the respiratory system, creating pain, shortness of breath and asthma attacks. Soot: Technically known as particulate pollution, this is actually a mix of soot, smoke and other tiny particles formed in the atmosphere from sulfur dioxide nitrogen oxides, and ammonia. The lung association found levels of particulates especially high in the Bronx and Manhattan, with Manhattan having the 15th highest level of particulates among all the counties in the nation. Because the particles of soot and so on are so small, people can easily breathe them in. From there, they can enter the circulatory system and the lungs. Greenhouse gases: These are the gases formed by carbon dioxide emissions that collect in the atmosphere and act like a blanket, trapping the sun's heat and so, most scientists believe, causing global warming. The Effects of Dirty Air
The effects of having all this in the air goes beyond aesthetics or minor discomfort. While envi-ronmentalists and industry may clash over exactly what the effects of air pollution are, few doubt they can be severe -- both in damaging the health of individuals and changing the Earth we live on. Premature Deaths: For example, a study by researchers at Yale and Johns Hopkins universities linked high ozone levels to premature death, saying an increase in the ozone level of 10 parts per million could create 319 additional fatalities in New York every year.
Another study (in PDF format), this one by the Clean Air Task Force, blamed diesel exhaust in New York State -- and the particulate pollution the
10environmental group said it causes -- with more than 2,300 premature deaths a year in New York State, along with 3,600 heart attacks and 51,000 asthma attacks. Beyond the human suffering, the report continued, this costs money, with the noxious effects of diesel exhaust causing New York State residents to lose a total of 315,000 days of work a year. Childhood Asthma: The effects are severe in New York City, especially in poor, largely black and Hispanic areas, such as Harlem and the South Bronx, which have some of the highest childhood asthma rates in the country. After testing children, Harlem Hospital found that one in four children in central Harlem suffers from asthma, giving the upper Manhattan neighborhood possibly the highest rates of the chronic lung condition ever found. Experts offer various theories as to why asthma is so prevalent in many areas: substandard health care, older housing, increased stress. But many residents of the affected communities also point to the high diesel emissions in their areas. some of it resulting from government owned facilities. Upper Manhattan, including Harlem, has, for example, five of the borough's six operating bus depots. Global Warming: Emissions from power plants and vehicles produce gases that almost all scientists agree create global warming. In the late 1990s, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that, in the next 100 years, temperatures in New York could rise by four degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and spring and even more in the summer and fall. While scientists differ about what a warmer world would look like, a report (in PDF format) by the (pre Bush administration) Environmental Protection Agency said many of the effects on New York would be far from benign. For example, an increase in temperature of just one degree could cause heat related deaths to more than double to almost 700 a year. And the four-degree jump would cause the already unhealthy levels of ozone to rise, since heat contributes to the production of ozone in the lower atmosphere. The Hurricane Threat: Global warming will almost certainly cause sea level to rise, as polar ice and glaciers melt and water s warm. "Gradually," wrote Moisha Blechman in the Sierra Atlantic, a publication of the Atlantic chapter of the
environmental group the Sierra Club, "the natural rhythms of city life, dependent on sea-level (or lower) transportation, will sink under ever rising and expanding seas."
The ravages of Hurricane Katrina have raised another red flag: that a warmer world would suffer through more destructive hurricanes. With many meteorologists predicting that New York will eventually face a major storm, an increase in severity can only be bad news. While global warming cannot be blamed for Katrina, or for any single storm Elizabeth Kolbert wrote in the New Yorker, hurricanes "all draw their energy from the same source: the warm surface waters of the ocean." And so, as the ocean temperature rises -- a product of global warming -- hurricanes will gain strength. At the same time, the rising sea levels poses a particular threat to low lying areas like New Orleans -- and (though she didn't say it) parts of New York. In recognition of the threat, British insurance companies have predicted that losses from hurricanes in the U.S., typhoons in Japan and windstorms in Europe could increase by more than 60 percent in the next decade.
Although a new study in the journal Science concludes that the rise in sea temperature has contributed to the ferocity of hurricanes, some scientists object. "It's not linked to global warming or anything like that," Gerry Bell of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Washington Post. "This is normal climate variability." What Is Being Done
Regardless of whether one believes a particular study, most New York politicians, from Governor George Pataki to members of the New York City Council see benefits in trying to clean up the area's air. And as a bonus, many measures could cut energy consumption as well. But some proposals, such as limiting auto access to Manhattan, carry costs that New Yorkers -- and their elected officials -- are loathe to accept. And some worry that air pollution regulations will make it more expensive -- and so less attractive -- to run businesses in the state. Cleaner City-Owned Vehicles: Last spring, the City Council passed, and the mayor signed, five bills designed to make the city's air cleaner. The measures:
11• require the city to purchase cleaner vehicles • mandate that city vehicles that run on diesel
fuel use low-sulfur diesel • control emissions on trucks, buses and sight-
seeing buses. Savings in fuel and on health care would, proponents said, offset the higher costs of burning cleaner fuels and modifying engines. "This is the most important environmental legislation that this council has ever done," said Councilmember James Gennaro, chair of the environment committee.
But some people said the council could have gone further. For example, the Times reported, some members had wanted the sanitation department to convert to vehicles powered by compressed natural gas, a clean fuel. The Bloomberg administration reportedly objected, worrying that the vehicles might not be reliable. Hybrid Cabs: In another measure to reduce vehicle emissions, the Taxi and Limousine Commission on September 8 voted to change its vehicle specifications so that hybrid vehicles could be used as medallion cabs. According to the commission, the vehicles would be cheaper to operate, with a hybrid costing between $18,000 and $19,000 a year, compared to the standard Ford Crown Victoria, whose annual expenses run at over $25,000. The hybrids, the commission said, are also eligible for state and federal tax incentives.
By combining a conventional internal combustion engine with an electric motor powered by batteries, hybrid vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight, can operate more efficiently than standard cars of a similar size, use less fuel, and produce fewer emissions, according to the Coalition Advocating for Safe Transportation, an advocacy group.
On the down side, the hybrids have a higher purchase price and less legroom -- about four and a half inches less -- than the conventional taxi. Greener Municipal Construction: On September 15, the council passed legislation setting stricter environmental standards for the construction and rehabilitation of municipal buildings, including schools, hospitals and city offices, and for private development projects that receive more than $10 million in city funding. The measure is designed to save energy and other natural resources -- and to reduce pollution. By removing unsafe building
materials and requiring better ventilation, the legislation will reduce indoor air pollution, proponents said. But its efforts to create more energy efficient buildings will help the outside air as well. "Since most electricity in New York City comes from power plants in our neighborhoods, reduced energy consumption translates directly into less smog, less asthma and less heart disease," said a statement by www.nycapollo.org NYC Apollo, a coalition of unions, environmentalists, community groups and others supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The council's action is the latest in a series of moves to promote environmentally friendly and energy efficient structures --commonly known as green buildings -- in New York. The state has a tax credit for such projects, and the Battery Park City Authority, a semi-autonomous state entity, in 2000 adopted some of the most stringent green building requirements in the country. The city has guidelines to encourage sustainable buildings as well.
But, while virtually no one objects to such efforts, skeptics question whether they can be economical and whether green buildings can ever make a significant dent in New York's pollution and its energy consumption. Smoking Ban: The Bloomberg administration launched a major offensive against indoor air pollution in its first days in office by proposing and winning passage of what was then a controversial measure to ban smoking in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars. Before it was enacted, the city health department had found that the average air pollution levels in bars that permitted smoking were as much as 50 times higher than at the entrance to the Holland Tunnel at rush hour. "Follow-up samples taken after the ban showed, on average, a six-fold reduction in air pollution levels in establishments that previously allowed smoking," according to a report (in PDF format) evaluating the anti smoking measure. What Else Can Be Done
While many environmentalists hail actions by the city and state, they believe more needs to be done. Reduce Sulfur: Some, such as the New York Lung Association, want the city and state to regulate the amount of sulfur, a component in smog and
12particulate pollution, in home heating oil. Currently sulfur accounts for 5,000 parts per million in some oil -- far above the federal standard of 500 parts. Cori Freedman, directory of advocacy for the group, said the current high price of home heating oil could make this a tough sell, but she said, the modest expense -- an additional one or two cents a gallon -- from using low-sulfur oil could be offset to some extent by lower maintenance costs. Discourage Car Use: Eighty percent of the city's added danger from air pollution comes from cars, trucks and other vehicles, according to one estimate. In August, Bloomberg announced that the city would use $71 million in money from the Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program to promote alternative vehicles fuels, improve pedestrian safety and promote bicycle use. But many environmentalists argue the city must do more to discourage automobile use and promote alternatives.
Some propose congestion pricing, currently used in London, which charges motorists more to use a road, bridge, tunnel or parking spot when traffic is heaviest. The idea is that this will encourage drivers to avoid traveling at peak times, reducing the number of cars on the road then and curtailing the weekday lines of idling stationary cars with their engines running, spewing exhaust.
A less extreme plan would put tolls on bridges that are now free. "On many East River Bridges, driving into Manhattan is free but taking a bus or train costs money," Andy Darrell, regional director of the advocacy group Environmental Defense has said. "That's the wrong incentive for economy and air traffic." Bloomberg originally expressed interest in instituting tolls on the bridges but abandoned the idea in the face of opposition from Brooklyn and Queens. Democratic mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer also opposes the tolls.
But Ferrer has said, in response to a questionnaire from the League of Conservation Voters, that he supports congestion pricing if it is "part of a larger framework" that includes an expanded rail freight system, efficient subways, and more ferries. Bloomberg has said he will study congestion pricing and perhaps consider it -- if it does not hurt local business. Promoting Rail: Along with restricting auto traffic to limit pollution, environmentalists also call for
promoting other forms of transportation, particu-larly mass transit. Some have urged construction of a www.environmentaldefense.org/go/railfreight rail freight tunnel to reduce truck traffic and the accompanying pollution. The federal transportation bill passed this summer includes $100 million for planning the tunnel, but the Port Authority has little interest in the project and Bloomberg is against it. Making Up for Washington
Meanwhile, in Washington, the Bush administration and many members of Congress have taken a sharply different approach toward air pollution than many New York officials. The issue came to the fore again last week when the Republican head of the Senate environment committee, James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma proposed legislation that would allow the government to suspend some environmental regulations that might affect the recovering and rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina.
While that measure would likely have little effect on New York, it does reflect the anti-regulation bent of many in the administration and in Congress. For several years, for example, the Bush administration sought looser limits on emissions from power plants. In response, New York City joined New York State and seven other states in filing lawsuits against five power companies that together account for 10 percent of the country's carbon dioxide emissions. Governor George Pataki joined with another Republican governor, California's Arnold Schwarzenegger, to urge that their states be allowed "to have stricter pollution controls than those set for the nation as a whole." But the power plant issue calls out for federal attention because emissions from plants in Ohio, for example, turn up as pollution in New York.
Bloomberg has broken with the Bush administration on environmental issues as well, putting himself among the mayors of more than 130 cities who have said they would try to locally meet the emission standards set in the Kyoto protocol to curb global warming. The U.S. has not signed the international agreement, which President Bush argues is bad for the U.S. economy.
In August, New York and eight other states in the Northeast said they would freeze power plant emissions at their current level and then go on to cut them 10 percent by 2020. The action, the New York Times reported, "the first of its kind in the nation,
13came after the Bush administration decided not to regulate the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming."
The White House reacted tepidly to the measure, and some New Yorkers worried that it could boost energy prices to even higher levels. Environmentalists praised it, but they were realistic. While such efforts show ingenuity and can set a precedent, Dale Bryk of the Natural Resources Defense Council once wrote, "We're not going to solve the problem of global warming in the northeastern states."
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