Schools

UPDATE: Lander Responds to PS 29 Asbestos Abatement

Letter comes on the heels of a petition and planned protest.

Update, Monday April 23, 3:30 p.m.:

This afternoon Councilmember Lander sent a letter to Lorraine Grillo, President of the NYC School Construction Authority, calling on the agency to halt planned asbestos abatement work at PS 29 until the school year has completed.

"Asbestos is a known carcinogen, and the lack of clarity, transparency, and discussion about asbestos abatement at P.S. 29 is of great concern," Lander wrote in the letter.

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"At a bare minimum, I believe that the SCA is obligated to hold off on any asbestos work for at least seven calendar days—since public posting of the work was not provided in advance, as required under the NYC Department of Environmental Protection’s Asbestos Rules and Regulations (Title 15, Chapter 1 of the Rules of the City of New York), which your staff have indicated will be followed for the P.S. 29 project," he wrote.

A complete copy of the letter Councilmember Lander sent has been attached to the article.

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Meanwhile, parents plan to protest in front of the school at 6:00 p.m. Monday evening.

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Parents of students at are up in arms over the recent announcement that asbestos abatement is planned to start on Monday, April 23.

"Given the cancer risks associated with airborne asbestos fibers," a representative of the parent group wrote to Carroll Gardens Patch, "it is absolutely beyond me why anyone would allow this to take place while school is in session."

The letter then goes on to state that a petition has been created to issue a stop work order.

"PS 29 is an old building and needs work," the petition reads. "With very little warning, construction began this March. Beginning a week or two ago, thick amounts of dust began to appear. The principal documented the degree of dust in a cell phone photo she took of a window sill. (Last month another parent witnessed a construction worker walking down the stairs—in between young children—carrying a large circular saw with blades exposed.)... This petition represents a formal request by the PS 29 community to cease all construction work at the school until the summer break."

To read a full copy of the petition and participate in signing it, click the link highlighted here

PS 29 is also one of 754 schools that the Department of Education found to contain PCBs in its lighting fixtures. Despite currently undergoing a $9 million renovation process, the PCB removal is not included in planned projects.


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