Amid
Vibration of
UN Building,
Emergency
Exits Were
Blocked, Staff
Kept Working
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 19 –
How seriously
does the UN
take the
safety of
its staff, for
example those
working in the
rented Albano
Building
half a block
from the UN
compound in
Manhattan? Not
very.
UN
staff tell
Inner City
Press that on
Friday,
February 15
vibrations
from the
demolition of
a building
next to the
Albano were so
bad that
they were told
that the
emergency
stairs on that
side would not
be
used for any
purpose --
including an
emergency.
Anywhere
else
in New York,
this would
mean sending
the workers
home, vacating
the building.
The law
requires a
secondary
means of
egress in case
of
fire or other
emergency.
But
UN staff were
made to keep
working on the
building on
Friday. And
even after the
three day
weekend, on
Tuesday
February 19,
they were
told that that
stairway
should only be
used in case
of a “serious
emergency.”
The
vibrations,
staff tell
Inner City
Press, also
exclusively,
continue. And
it does not
appear that
the UN
informed
the New York
City Buildings
Department.
The
claim the UN
makes is that
its premises,
including the
floors it
rented not
only in Albano
but also the
so-called
Innovation
Luggage
Building on
Second Avenue
and 42 Street,
for example,
are
international
territory not
subject to New
York City or
US laws. But
what about
safety?
And what about
the UN
preaching
about workers
rights and
conditions of
labor all over
the world?
In
one of a
number of
other recent
stories about
UN staff and
safety,
Inner City
Press in writing
about a slip
and fall in
the UN
cafeteria
with shorter
and shorter
hours
wrote about
the lack of
X-Ray
facilities in
the UN after
Hurricane
Sandy. The
UN wrote back
to
Inner City
Press:
Subject:
Your
question on X
rays
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at]
un.org
Date: Thu, Feb
7, 2013 at
3:31 PM
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
We
can confirm
that the UN's
x-ray machine
was seriously
damaged in
Hurricane
Sandy. It will
not be
replaced.
Like
all medical
services
around the
World, the UN
Medical
Services
Division has
been
progressively
seeking to
reduce the use
of x-rays
in situations
where the
medical
literature
indicates
there is no
requirement
for them. This
will also
minimise the
exposure of
staff
to ionizing
radiation
associated
with x-ray
imaging. X-ray
use has
now reduced so
much that
there is no
longer a need
for a
full-time
x-ray service
in the UN
building. The
small number
of x-rays that
are
still needed
are now
sourced from
external
providers.
But
nevertheless
when a woman
slipped on a
negligently
wet floor, she
was
taken to UN
Medical
Service -
without any
X-Ray. Watch
this site.
, 
