@NYCSchools Deputy Chancellor Grimm Hides Asbestos Disturbance

UPDATE: City of NY Visits the post below:

Today’s DNAInfo.com article titled Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy Got Preferential DOE Treatment, Emails Show, discusses how DOE leaders bent over backwards to accommodate schools for Success Academy Charters. One of those that laid down the red carpet was Deputy Chancellor of Operations Kathleen Grimm. She made sure rooms were empty and swept clean before the arrival of Success Academy. The article also shows that Kathleen Grimm was pretty quick with responses.

That is strange, because I wrote an email to Kathleen Grimm about how her information was wrong and asbestos was disturbed at a school and there was no containment in place. For those of you who don’t know, asbestos fibers inhaled can cause cancer of the lungs. The thing with asbestos is that it also can take years before you see symptoms and it depends on exposure.

“Mr. Portelos, what asbestos disturbance”

Principal Hill hired a non-SCA approved contractor to do a non-SCA job. They came in and demolished a wall. no containment. No asbestos inspection. No clean up as per the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). Who cares It’s just IS 49, a school nestled between two housing projects. Not even the Community Education Council of Staten Island did anything about it.

Here is an email from former Superintendent Erminia Claudio to her supervisor Donald Conyers the morning she got wind that I was going to publicly discuss the issue:

It doesn’t stop there. Deputy Chancellor was quick to do her own research and then give false information to hide the fact that dangerous asbestos went airborne in a school of 1,000 students and staff.

I wonder if Kathleen Grimm, who is the Deputy Chancellor of Operations looked at the school’s AHERA report herself, or just had an intern skim through it.

I looked at it myself and found that her information was unfortunately incorrect. Keep in mind that a bulletin board was taken down and the mastic that held it up was pulverized into a dust.

Here is the AHERA report for IS 49:

Even if you knew nothing about asbestos inspection, could you see that according to the report above, Wall Board Mastic (glue) is assumed It should be treated as positive for asbestos.

So did Kathleen Grimm accidentally miss that and only see the mastic for the ceiling tiles

Where are we now The answer is nowhere. The CEC turned it’s back. I spoke to SCA who wanted nothing to with it as they said “This wasn’t our job. We weren’t included.” The Division of School Facilities agreed with my report, but asked… “What can we do..what is done, is done.”

How about a registry and we included all students, staff members and visitors in the building around that time This way, ten years down the line, IF something were to start happening to that school year’s population, it is documented

Here is my email to Kathleen Grimm that could not be graced with a response:

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Oh you might be asking how my speech went. Not horrible, but not great. According to Superintendent Claudio, I was not on my “game”. I guess that means I have game sometimes.

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From: Gordon Andrew
To: Greenidge Emerson
Subject: FW: Asbestos contamination at IS 49
Date: Wednesday, January 02, 2013 7:07:00 PM

No need to reach out to Chris but just be aware of this situation. I can fill you in on it in morning.

Andrew Gordon
Executive Director
HR Connect and Employee Relations
Division of Human Resources
NYC Department of Education
65 Court Street, Room 200
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Office: (718) 935-3790
Agordon13@schools.NYC.gov

From: Gordon Andrew
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2013 7:07 PM
To: Rose Elizabeth
Subject: RE: Asbestos contamination at IS 49

Agreenot sure that reaching out to UFT Health and Safety is immed or necessary. If these
allegations are true and UFT H&S knows, they usually reach out to us right away.

Andrew Gordon
Executive Director

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From: Zaharakis Despina
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2013 06:52 PM
To: Gordon Andrew; Rose Elizabeth
Cc: Moran Kevin; Tyack Justin
Subject: Re: Asbestos contamination at IS 49

Thanks.I’m worried about no response on this translating incorrectly to “DOE doesn’t care about public
health in our schools”.

Elizabeth, can you follow up with UFT env safety (Ed) to see if they have anything, in addition to
SCA and DSF
Thanks
————————–
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

———————-

From: Zaharakis Despina
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2013 6:07 PM
To: Gordon Andrew; Rose Elizabeth
Cc: Moran Kevin; Tyack Justin
Subject: RE: Asbestos contamination at IS 49

Andy and Elizabeth, can you review the blog posting and advise Allegations of principal hiring private
contractor for the work and exposing school to asbestos (do we report), mention of DSF work, etc.

Despina Zaharakis
Chief Executive officer,
Cluster 2
Division of Academics, Performance & Support
NYC Department of Education
30-48 Linden Place
Flushing, NY 11354
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So was there a cover up at IS 49 The AHERA report indicates asbestos was disturbed as board mastic was pulverized with no containment.