File A Complaint

Environmental Health and Safety Department at NYCHA

Mission Statement:

The mission of the Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Department is to ensure decent, safe, and sanitary environments for our residents and employees. In partnership with the Authority’s operating units, the EH&S Department will be responsible for providing oversight, analysis, and evaluation of all matters and work conducted by the Authority which have any impact upon the environmental health and safety of the real property of the Authority, its residents, and employees.

The EH&S Department is responsible for the following activities and objectives:

1. Analyzing, overseeing, and improving environmental health and safety at NYCHA, which shall include but not be limited to issues relating to lead-based paint, mold, heating, pests, elevators, air quality, and other aspects of NYCHA’s physical environment that affect residents’ health or safety.
2. Reporting to NYCHA’s senior management and Board on environmental health and safety issues.
3. Making recommendations to NYCHA’s senior management and Board for improvement and correction of any environmental health and safety issues at NYCHA.
4. Communicating with the public and stakeholders regarding environmental health and safety issues, including by maintaining a forum for employee and resident complaints (including anonymous complaints) regarding environmental health and safety issues.
5. Advising the Chief Compliance Officer of any information obtained by the Environmental Health and Safety Department that relates to regulatory compliance.
6. Coordinating with the Chief Compliance Officer regarding issues that impact both compliance and environmental health and safety.
7. Ensuring the proper application of lead paint interim controls and proper abatement of lead paint.

Leadership:

An EH&S Officer (EHSO) will lead the Department. The EHSO will report directly to NYCHA’s Chair and Chief Executive Officer. The EHSO will be responsible for the oversight and strategic planning of the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of environmental health and safety (EHS) programs.

The EHSO will coordinate with the Compliance Department and the Quality Assurance Unit regarding issues that impact both compliance and environmental health and safety through a formalized Compliance Council.

Organization:

The EH&S Department will conduct inspections of work performed that impacts environmental health and safety for mold, lead, asbestos, heat, elevators, and pests and vermin. The EH&S Department inspections may not be limited to these areas and will evolve. 

The objective of the EH&S Department will be to exercise an oversight function over work performed by other departments, including but not limited to the Healthy Homes Department and the Operations Department. This may be re-organized by the EHSO in consultation with the Monitor.

1. Asbestos
   • Inspect the quality of asbestos abatement work performed by the Authority’s Technical Services Department (TSD) and its contractors 

2. Pests
   • Inspect pest mitigation measures and extermination measures to ensure conformity with best practices, existing standard procedures, and in accordance with the principles of Integrated Pest Management.

3. Elevators
   • The elevator inspection unit will perform mandated NYC Department of Buildings independent periodic inspections and witnessed Category 1 and Category 5 inspections.

4. Heat
   • The heating inspection unit will inspect boilers and boiler rooms to ensure they meet standards and inspect completed repair work and annual overhauls conducted by the Heating Management Services Department.

5. Lead
   • The lead inspection unit will conduct or retain contractors to perform dust clearance examinations on completed presumed lead-based paint remediations or lead abatement work.

6. Mold
   • The mold inspection until will conduct inspections of mold remediations to ensure that work is completed in accordance with existing standard procedures.

Each inspection unit will report findings that impact both compliance and environmental health and safety to the Compliance Department and the Environmental Health and Safety Department.