Nov 13, 2007 8:07 pm US/Eastern
Mayor To U.N.: Fix Fire Code Violations Or Else
Bloomberg To Stop School Trips If Action Isn't Taken
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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United Nations headquarters, New York
AP
Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the United Nations is a dangerous firetrap. He's threatening to stop city school field trips and warn tourists to stay away unless hundreds of fire code violations are fixed.
As CBS 2 has reported in the past, the world body has been promising to fix things for years.
Seven years ago United Nations officials took CBS 2 HD on a tour of their headquarters to point out fire hazards and other deficiencies they found in their then 50-year-old building.
"It is dangerous," said former U.N. Undersecretary for Management Joseph O'Connor.
According to Bloomberg the words of O'Connor ring true today.
"They have a number of safety violations in their old buildings," the mayor said.
That's apparently an understatement. The FDNY found 866 violations when it last inspected the building, including some of the same things CBS 2 HD found seven years ago -- missing sprinklers, a lack of proper notification systems, not enough smoke detectors.
"They have to be fixed for us to say the building is safe," Bloomberg said.
U.N. officials say they've fixed 20 percent of the violations.
"They've replaced 2,000 sprinkler heads and they've erected over 1,000 signs for fire protection," U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.
But a letter to the U.N. Tuesday, Marjoie Tiven, the head of the city's Commission for the United Nations, had this to say about plans to install new smoke detectors by next May:
"That is not satisfactory," she said
Fire experts agree.
"With 866 violations one would have to believe that there are some serious concerns here," said Jack McDonnell of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association.
The mayor's threat to stop school visits could have a serious effect. There were loads of kids going there Tuesday.
"They should really put in some more money into the U.N. and make it bigger and better so kids like us can continue to see it and see how it affects our world," said Leyla Deren, a ninth grader at Mountain Lakes High School in New Jersey.
The mayor has given the world body until January to fix its major problems.
Here's another dangerous design flaw. If there is a fire at U.N. headquarters, FDNY fire trucks can't pull onto the property. The weight of the trucks could collapse the underground parking garage.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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