Grandstanding The Grandstanders
Believe me, the Mayor can hang with the best of them:
The city has urged the United Nations to stop all public tours of the East Side complex until fire dangers are dealt with — and is stopping public-school tours there, officials said yesterday.
The city had no choice but to make the move for this school year, after the UN spent over 12 months promising heavy-duty renovations to make the complex safe — only to drop many of them, citing the high cost, according to a letter from Marjorie Tiven, the city’s commissioner to the UN.
“The city has no choice but to suspend public schools’ visits to the United Nations,” Tiven, Mayor Bloomberg’s sister, wrote in the letter dated Monday.
The complex lacks a full complement of fire doors that could seal off each building, officials said. Fires could spread quickly in the many open corridors, officials said.
When the United Nations abandoned its promise to install such major fire doors last May, Tiven wrote, the FDNY came up with a suggestion — stop all public tours.
FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta told The Post, “Until certain things happen [by way of safety measures] . . . we suggested that there not be visitors allowed into the United Nations.
“And so far the UN has not abided by that recommendation,” he said. “And we have no authority over them to order that, but we do have authority to keep our children from the public schools going on tours.”
Location Scout: United Nations.
Posted: September 10th, 2008 | Filed under: Everyone Is To Blame Here, Grandstanding