Yes I CAN!
SANITMAN BATTLES CITY TO GO BACK TO WORK
This strongman wants his job back — but the Sanitation Department and his private doctor can’t agree on whether he’s fit for duty. Dennis Palazzola, 49, a marathon runner and ex-cop who joined the Sanitation Department 17 years ago, has been waging a war with the agency’s medical staff for the past six months to get his career back on track after an off-duty accident.
“It’s just something I think the taxpayers should know about. We always hear stories about the bad seeds abusing the pension system. Well, here you have an able-bodied worker who wants to get back on the job, and the city won’t let me,” said the married father of twin 9-year-old boys.
Palazzola’s saga began during a family vacation last Memorial Day, when he tumbled off his mountain bike and landed hard on his left elbow.
The injury was severe enough to require surgery and then several months of rehab, which Palazzola completed while on medical leave.
In October, his strength and range of motion were nearly fully restored. His private doctor cleared him to return to work and filled out the form required by the Sanitation Department’s medical team.
But Palazzola’s request was rejected by city doctors, who said he wasn’t ready to return.
In November, Palazzola’s doctor tried again — this time with a formal letter.
“It is my medical opinion that he is fully cleared to return to work with no restrictions,” wrote Dr. Nirmal Tejwani, orthopedic surgeon at NYU Langone Hospital for Joint Diseases.
Palazzola’s range of motion wasn’t quite 100%, but would get there with regular use, especially if he returned to his sanitation job, the doctor added.
“Patient has a stable left elbow and no pain issues. He is fully capable to work as a full-time sanitation worker with no restrictions,” the note concluded.
But again, the Sanitation Department doctor said no.
In December, Palazzola got an alarming letter from his employer.
“It basically said the agency had submitted my name to the city to begin my retirement application,” Palazzola said. “They wanted to push me out.”
As a former cop, Palazzola has 19 years of service with the city — but at the Department of Sanitation, he only has 17. That leaves him three years shy of the 20 required to retire with a full pension.
“If I let them put that retirement application in, I’d go out with a pension that gives me one third of my annual pay — instead of the full pension I’ve worked for all these years,” said Palazzola, who says he has a clean work record and even got a distinguished service award in 2004.
The city’s letter told Palazzola he had “10 working days to submit written documentation from your private doctor stating you are medically able to sustain the full duties of your title.”
Palazzola got all his paperwork and sent it in again — but still has not been cleared to return to work. For the past four months, he’s bounced between doctors — all while working to further improve his range of motion — but with no resolution. On Friday, the Sanitation doctor again refused to reinstate him — and sent Palazzola to see a city-approved specialist yet again.
“It’s like an endless cycle. I see my private doctor, I’m given the OK. I see the Sanitation doctor, they say no. It goes nowhere,” Palazzola said.
At the same time, Palazzola is unable to leave his home unless it’s for one of eight reasons pre-approved by the city — which often sends investigators to the residences of workers on medical disability to make sure they’re not milking the system. Most
of the reasons to leave home are medical in nature and require advance city notification — but Palazzola must also seek city permission if he wants to go grocery shopping, which must be done in one hour and before 11 a.m.
Sanitation Department spokeswoman Kathy Dawkins said the agency is still seeking “further medical clearance” to confirm Palazzola wasn’t limited by range-of-motion issues.
“The department has not initiated the retirement process ... at this time,” said Dawkins, who confirmed Palazzola would only be eligible for one-third of a service wage pension if forced to retire.
For Palazzola, the strain is taking its toll. “All I can say is this, I’m the main health care provider through my job for my family. One of my sons has autism. I need to work. I want to work and I’m medically cleared to work,” said Palazzola. “I just need to get out of this bureaucratic nightmare.”
It’s like an endless cycle. I see my private doctor, I’m given the OK. I see the Sanitation doctor, they say no. It goes nowhere. Dennis Palazzola