A pipefitter that works for the New York City Department of Education (DOE) claims he’s found asbestos in seven city public schools and a DOE office, but says his employer is too cheap to do anything about its removal.
John Kielbasa, age 50, told the New York Post that cost has stopped his supervisors from ordering its removal - despite the health risks that asbestos poses to students and staff in those particular schools.
“Every time I bring this up, they tell me not to rock the boat,” said Kielbasa, a 21-year veteran of the school system. “They tell me, ‘You like your job? Want to keep it?’ ”
Kielbasa says he knows of only one instance where the issue has been addressed. The asbestos, he adds, is not encapsulated, but has been found in its loose or “friable” form, which is when it’s at its most dangerous.

The Department of Education Division of School Facilities claims they’ve never received any complaints from Kielbasa. However, his lawyer has been able to produce several documents that show a paper trail of written requests from Kielbasa to his supervisors.

Marge Feinberg, a spokesperson for the DOE, says the city schools are safe and that the DOE addresses asbestos issues as soon as they are brought to their attention. Kielbasa disagrees with the assessment.

“I find it in libraries. I find it in classrooms. I find it in hallways. I find it in machinery rooms, near ventilation ducts,” said Kielbasa, who hired an independent laboratory last year to test for asbestos. Results were positive at all the sites. They include:

• PS 102, 315 E. 113th St. in Manhattan, in machinery space under the cafeteria and near a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning unit feeding the gym.
• PS 72, 131 E. 104th St, in Manhattan, on a pipe and a ventilation duct - the one place Kielbasa said the issue was addressed.
• PS 18, 502 Morris Ave. in The Bronx, under the cafeteria and near the gym’s blower.
• Manhattan Center HS, 116th Street and Pleasant Avenue in Manhattan, under the auditorium and near a unit pumping air into the girls’ gym.
• Park East HS, 230 E. 105th St. in Manhattan, in the library radiator’s cover and the boiler room.
• Samuel Gompers HS, 455 Southern Blvd. in The Bronx, on a staircase.
• South Bronx HS, 701 St. Ann’s Ave., in a blower unit.
• The Division of School Facilities’ headquarters, Vernon Boulevard in Queens, on a first-floor staircase.

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