Overtime costs are skyrocketing at the MTA’s East New York bus depot, where the agency has been struggling to fix a failing fire suppression system for more than a year.
According to an internal overtime report reviewed by the Daily News, nonstop fire patrols required by the fire code have cost the MTA more than $2.4 million in the past year.
The depot — a sprawling complex of buildings that houses around 250 buses as well as maintenance, repair and tire shops, MTA offices and subway repair facilities — has been plagued by sprinkler system snafus for more than 20 months.
Additionally, the depot’s fire alarm system has been on the fritz since 2020, resulting in an ongoing investigation by the state Department of Labor.
Both problems have led to citations from regulators, and a requirement that the agency staff a 24/7 fire watch in which employees patrol the facility for signs of danger.
“Fire watch is a code-permitted way of assuring safety when you’re having plumbing problems on the fire suppression system,” MTA chair Janno Lieber said when asked about the state of repairs at the depot. “We’re compliant with the rules that apply. That facility is safe.”
Rich Davey, head of New York City Transit, agreed.
“The place is safe, no doubt,” he said. “But we’d rather a working fire suppression system than having to pay a 24-hour fire watch.”
“I’m very involved in it and keeping a close eye on it, because it’s costing us money,” he added.
The MTA declined to tell The News exactly how much the round-the-clock patrols cost.
However, an overtime document reviewed by The News shows 19 employees at the depot who have earned overtime pay in excess of their contractual salary cap of $175,479 as of June.
In total, the MTA has paid these 19 employees $2.4 million in excess of their base salaries in the 52 weeks leading up to the creation of the report.
Every employee on the list has made at least twice their base salary in that time period.
One electrician is listed as making $254,800 — more than three times his base salary of $83,200. Nine other employees have made over $200,000 since fire watch began.
Payment in excess of the salary cap is allowed in rare instances, said multiple current and former Transport Workers Union officials — but it requires the sign-off of someone in MTA management.
The fire watch staffing extends beyond those 19 maintainers — who include electricians and facility repair staff — listed on the overtime report, according to staff at the facility.
Multiple employees at the depot told The News that the fire watch now involves overtime hours from bus mechanics and cleaners as well, and is likely in excess of 30 people per day.
Their overtime hours were not included in the report reviewed by The News.
Some at the depot said the fire watch is not enough protection for the sprawling complex, where welding, brazing and other “hot work” happens in an environment full of flammable materials.
And some wondered if the overtime shifts were in fact being properly staffed.
“I think I saw one guy doing rounds,” one maintainer said. “I do not see anyone walking around at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m.”
“I don’t believe they’re doing it,” another employee at the facility said. “You don’t see these guys roaming around.”
John Chiarello, safety director of TWU Local 100 ? which represents many employees at the facility, including those staffing the fire watch — said he is monitoring the situation carefully.
“I was there a couple of days ago,” he said Thursday. “We did a whole site visit, and the fire watch is in place.”
“We’re on top of it,” he added. “This is nothing to sneeze about.”
Meanwhile, the problems at the facility persist. The old pipes feeding the sprinkler systems from the city water main have routinely failed pressure tests over the past 20 months.
“We continue to follow leaks as we go through the system,” Davey said when asked about the repair work in June.
That same month, a June 14 deadline set by the state Department of Labor for the repair of the facility’s fire alarm panels came and went.
A Department of Labor inspection report in May had cited the MTA for repeated failures to repair the fire alarm panels. “The violation has been an ongoing issue throughout that facility, as numerous complaints, with photographic evidence, continue to be received related to panel indicators displaying ‘trouble’ signs [fault indicator lights],” the report read.
The report, obtained by The News, listed two earlier violations issued for the same problem — one in March 2022 and one in May 2020.
Photographs reviewed by The News show fire alarm panels continuing to display “trouble” warning lights as recently as last week.
Asked if the MTA faces any penalty for failing to meet the June deadline, a Labor Department spokesperson declined to comment on “ongoing investigations.”
Agency spokespeople declined to respond to questions about the fire panel violations, but said the MTA is committed to restoring the fire sprinklers as quickly as possible.
“Following the repairs of sprinkler system leaks at the depot in June, crews conducting a test of the system discovered additional leaks,” MTA spokesman Michael Cortez said in a statement.
“As a result, the MTA will pursue a more comprehensive project to make repairs to the facility, which will include a temporary relining and then a longer-term solution.”
The temporary solution, a plan to line the leaky pipes with epoxy, should be completed before the year’s end, Cortez said.
A more permanent fix, involving wholesale replacement of the old plumbing, is expected to take more time.
“To ensure employee safety, NYC Transit will continue to have certified staff performing fire watch of the building until repairs can be made,” Cortez added.
Regardless, some workers said they still worry about their safety.
“I have a family at home that loves me — I’m pretty sure they want to see me,” one long-time depot worker said.
“If it was 2 Broadway,” he added, citing the address of MTA headquarters in lower Manhattan, “I guarantee you it would have been fixed.”
