Teachers File Complaint Over Heat

NEW YORK (AP/WCBS 880) -- New York's public school teachers have filed a complaint with the state over having to hold classes in sweltering classrooms as the city endured its fourth straight day of 90-plus temperatures, the union said Tuesday.

The United Federation of Teachers asked the state Department of Labor to cite the New York City Department of Education for failing to protect students and teachers from ``heat-related health hazards'' in the schools.

Statement from UTF:
In the absence of protocol, we urge school administrators and educators in buildings without air conditioning to:

keep lights off in the classrooms
keep shades down
move classes to lower floors and large spaces such as the cafeteria and auditorium
move students out of the building to shaded spaces
restrict strenuous activity
drink plenty of water and make certain students drink plenty of water
revise work schedules by increasing breaks and reducing activity

If the temperature remains as high as expected, upper floors of school buildings can reach over 100 degrees. We are especially concerned about schools where there is scaffolding or netting related to construction, because the occupants may have been told to keep their windows shut or have plastic on their windows for dust control. We recommend staying out of rooms with sealed windows.

The complaint was filed Monday after the union received numerous complaints from teachers in dozens of schools across the city, officials said at a news conference.

The temperature hit 94 degrees in Central Park at midday Tuesday, with forecasters saying the humidity could make it feel like 105. The state issued an ozone advisory for unhealthy air for a second straight day.

Unlike some suburban schools, city schools were not dismissed early Monday or Tuesday, though some teachers whose classrooms lack air conditioning took their students to shady spots in nearby parks.

Margie Feinberg, a Department of Education spokeswoman, said the department ``recognizes that today's unseasonable weather creates uncomfortable conditions in our schools and we commend our principals for taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety of our students and teachers.''

The majority of the city's 1,100 public school buildings are more than 20 years old and were built without air conditioning, though almost all have at least one air-conditioned classroom.

On Long Island, Roosevelt Junior Senior High School, which is not air conditioned, shut down at 10 a.m. after four people were taken to the hospital suffering from heat-related illnesses, according to Nassau County police.

Sporadic weather-related power outages continued to plague homes and business in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Westchester County. Consolidated Edison had 461 customers without power by midafternoon Tuesday. The Long Island Power Authority reported 416 such cases.

Metro-North said it was operating its trains at reduced speeds due to the heat and passengers should expect scattered five-to-10 minute delays.

Relief was in sight from the four-day heat wave that has gripped the East Coast. The temperature was expected to drop to the high 80s on Wednesday after overnight thunderstorms.

The temperature hit a record 99 at La Guardia Airport on Monday and registered 96 degrees in Central Park, one degree shy of the record for June 9, set in 1933.

The city's Office of Emergency Management said more than 3,000 people had visited cooling centers as of noon Tuesday, down from
25,000 on Monday. All 300 centers remained open.

A company that provides outdoor security at residential and office buildings made sure their workers were supplied with plenty of bottled water and reduced their outdoor patrol rotations from an hour to 30 minutes at a time.

``We're constantly monitoring our officers to see that they are hydrated,'' said Ralph Martell, regional vice president for Cambridge Security Services.

Lisa Burke of Oyster Bay, Long Island, waited in a block-long taxi line outside Penn Station on Tuesday rather than walk the half mile to the Jacob Javits Convention Center, where she was headed.

``If it were more pleasant I would walk,'' she said. ``I want to arrive at my destination looking cool and composed.''

William Walker was already sweating at 8 a.m. as he delivered cases of drinks not far from Penn Station. ``I drink plenty of Gatorade. I just sweat a lot,'' he said.

Not everyone was bothered by the heat. Isabel Hernandez-Holstein still looked fresh after finishing her morning run.

``Well, I'm from Miami, so this is nothing. Here, at least you have shade,'' she said, gesturing to the blocks-long shadows cast by Manhattan's skyscrapers.

Things didn't go quite as well in her tai chi class in Bryant Park. The instructor cut the session short, unable to continue as the temperature climbed into the high 80s.

``She said, 'I'm sorry. It's just so hot,''' Hernandez-Holstein said.

The scorching heat may have contributed to the death of a 6-year-old girl, who was playing in front of an open hydrant Monday when she was struck and killed by a livery cab driver.

The driver, who police said took the girl to the hospital where she was pronounced dead, was charged with aggravated unlicensed operator and false impersonation.