Communication is a key part of any safety and security plan. Staff need to be able to talk to each other, especially when there is an incident like an active shooting or serious issues to report. NYCHA employees in many locations have poor radio reception, as there may be many dead zones, especially in basements and buildings that are farther from the supervisors’ offices.  There are other problems, such as outdated radios, batteries may not last through entire shift, and supplying new radios to a development can take a very long time.

Andy Rodriguez, the Supervisor of Caretakers at 1010 East 178th Street was concerned, and worked hard for four years to get the phones into the staff’s hands. “The Office of Safety and Security came out to do an assessment, and found too many dead zones, which we knew was the case, because our radios didn’t work anywhere.  We also have two locations, and having a remote location six blocks away made it impossible to communicate effectively without a better device.”

The staff are now equipped with Smartphones, and they are breathing easier.  Greg (Bam) Barnes, Caretaker X, noted, “these phones are accurate in real time, they have much better service quality, and we are much more confident that we can be in touch when we need to be connected. It’s also very helpful to get emails with notices about weekend schedules and other messages, like reminders or trainings and other group communications.”  
More employees, such as the Caretaker Xs, are being given phones to conduct work like mold inspections, and maintenance workers have had phone for years, so staff having iPhone is not new to NYCHA.   “Having the phone has really helped to improve communication and relationships between staff and management. It gives us employees access to  resources and other pertinent information without solely having to rely on getting the information from supervisors.” said Safety Associate Shana Cook.

“Almost every development I work with has some issue or another with radios. Sometimes they just don’t have enough for the entire staff, other times the radios die out before the end of the shift, and then there are the dead zone issues.”  said Jaleesa Moye, Local 237 Business Agent.  
The union is conducting a survey at all the developments to identify the major issues for radios in that location to better address the problems, and to put pressure on NYCHA to take more action to correct this longstanding safety issue.    

Carl Giles, the union’s Housing Director, is working with NYCHA to ensure that all staff across the agency have access to a good communication device. “We have been pushing the agency on this issue to address this problem for years.” noted Giles.

Giles concluded, “How do we train workers on active shooter procedures if they don’t have a way to get the information that there is an active shooter on the property or in the area? NYCHA needs to upgrade their communication systems to ensure everyone’s safety, and they cannot continue to rely on the use of the staff’s own personal phones to provide that service.”

1010 Consolidated NYCHA Staff with Local 237 Business Agent Jaleesa Moye