Posted on 12/05/2001 7:14:10 AM PST by NativeNewYorker
United Nations, Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Mice roam in the cafeteria of the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan, and office windows leak, workers said. Netting in the General Assembly hall protects diplomats from falling ceiling tiles, much of the complex is inaccessible to physically disabled people and there are no fire sprinklers. Some UN employees told their union representatives they never heard the order to evacuate after the World Trade Center attack because the public address system didn't work. The UN, with its green-tinted glass facade, looks like a glistening gem on the East River. In fact, the almost 50-year-old facility is in such poor condition that Assistant Secretary- General Toshiyuki Niwa said New York City building inspectors would close it if they had jurisdiction over what is officially international territory. ``This is a middle-aged building, which is outdated from the point of view of safety codes and health considerations,'' said Niwa, head of the department that manages the complex. ``There are environmental hazards, such as asbestos, and it is the only high- rise building in New York City without a sprinkler system.'' The UN, considered a state-of-the-art design when it was built for $67 million from 1949 to 1952, hasn't been upgraded since then, officials said. The world organization's treaty with the U.S. government indicates the facility should be able to pass inspection, although the pact lacks an enforcement provision. ``You can see mice running around the cafeteria and they get in offices that are near the other dining rooms,'' said J. Fernando Astete, a vice president of the Staff Union of the United Nations who has worked for the organization 36 years. ``I have mouse traps set up in my office.'' Leaks, Crumbling Concrete A UN Capital Master Plan proposes that diplomats from 189 member nations vote next year to spend at least $964 million to renovate the 2.7 million-square-foot complex, which consists of six connected structures, including the General Assembly hall and the 39-floor Secretariat building, where most of the more than 4,200 employees work. ``Staff members and visitors have a lower chance of survival during a fire, consume more energy at higher costs and face greater obstacles to accessibility than they would at comparable modern buildings in New York,'' according to the master plan. ``The buildings are experiencing major leaks, falling concrete, cracked pipes, exploding steam valves, electrical feeder failures and inaccurate fire alarm signals.'' If the General Assembly votes for the repairs, the work would be financed by a mortgage, an interest-free loan or payments from member nations, according to the master plan. Repair Costs There was no opposition when the General Assembly approved the master plan last December. The U.S. General Accounting Office, the auditing arm of Congress, endorsed the proposal in a report released in June, and the Italian architecture firm Renato Sarno won a $40 million design and engineering contract for preliminary work. The alternative is to spend $1.6 billion over the next 25 years on piecemeal repairs, said Joseph Connor, UN Under-Secretary General for Management. Even that amount wouldn't solve the issue of energy costs that are projected to rise to $28 million annually in 2027 from the current $10 million because of inefficient heating and ventilation systems. ``This building represents a great international institution and needs to be looked at with pride, said UN Ambassador Jagdish Koonjul of Mauritius. ``But unfortunately, it is badly in need of renovation. I was here in 1978 and have just come back this year and I can see the deterioration.'' Asbestos Removal Most of the electrical, plumbing and heating equipment is original to the building, officials said. Some dials in the basement that regulate the temperature have two settings: summer and winter. Workers said their offices are often either uncomfortably hot or cold. Repairs are expensive because almost every project requires removal of asbestos -- a carcinogen -- and because many replacement parts must be hand made in a UN shop. The condition of the buildings hurts staff efficiency and morale, workers said. ``We have no room in our offices, soot comes down from the ceiling and covers everything, so your clothes get dirty, and you can't do things like video conferencing because of the wiring and equipment,'' said Marc Labelle, who works in the UN's conference services department. Most of floors of the main UN Secretariat building are a honeycomb of small offices whose walls can't be moved to adjust to the needs of a changing workforce. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations, which has expanded 49 percent in the last three years to 497 workers in New York, is spread over five locations in three UN buildings, officials said. Air Quality Labelle and leaders of the UN staff union said workers worry most about the air quality. ``I think asbestos is a huge problem,'' said staff union President Rosemarie Waters, noting that the substance is in ceilings, floor tiles and doors. UN officials said asbestos is a concern, although tests have shown the air is safe. Anxiety reached a new level recently as anthrax cases spread in the U.S. Niwa said workers on the 30th floor were alarmed when white dust floated down on them from an office ceiling. One test produced inconclusive results, and about 20 employees were given the drug Cipro. Tests eventually showed that the white substance was more of the soot some workers wipe off their desks. ``You are breathing soot every day,'' Astete said. ``It is very worrisome.''
Condemn the building and evict the tenants.
We should have the building renovated and ready for their return when ... oh, let's say "When hell freezes over"? Or is that too soon?
LET IT ROT!
I hear there's plenty of parking.
Kind of like those who push for public transportation spending, but when you ask them if THEY ever take the bus, they respond with a sheepish "no" and give an excuse as to why they cannot.
What other office building in the USA allows smoking ondoors? yuck
This place is a death trap. This always happens when there is no controlling legal authority, to borrow a phrase from Algore. NYC has one of the most stringent building codes and enforcement operations in the country. And right there on their little island is a building that does not have to comply.
If the fecal matter ever hits the rotary ventilation device and there is a major fire, who will have to answer the call? You got it, the Fire Department of the City of New York. And yet, no FDNY code enforcement official has probably even seen the inside of that building. New York City should notify the UN forthwith that if there is a fire, they should dial the weather channel and check for rain, because it is not worth it for the City to risk the life of firemen if the UN will not even bother with basic life safety improvements or sprinkler upgrades.
These guys can't even run a building, and they want to run the world!
The U.N. building is NOT on U.S./New York property...so it reflects the values of the rest of the world...which is shabby and "ghetto-like" to us. I'm glad it's in New York for this reason too...it sticks out like a sore thumb here...as do the people and their values from elsewhere. Had this taken place elsewhere in the world, it would not have made the news.
Freedom rings, doesn't it.
Nobody wants to spend money on facilities management. But if you don't, the problems don't go away, they just get worse. Everybody in the world has figured that out, except the UN. What does it say about an organization that is trying to chart the course of the future of the world, when they cannot even fix the ceiling in the lobby in less than 20 years?
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