Parks & wreck!
City crews’ death-trap car Floors, seat belts crumbling
A PARKS Department truck that was used as recently as last week has a seat belt anchored by a brick and rusted holes in the floorboards so large that workers inside the vehicle can see straight to the ground.
The Fred Flintstone-mobile is a veritable death trap — a yabba-dabba-don’t for terrified workers.
“I got people who could be killed being forced to use this vehicle, and there’s no accountability,” said Dilcy Benn, president of Local 1505, the union that represents city Parks workers.
The 2000 dark-green Ford pickup — adorned with the Parks Department logo — has 102,695 miles on it, and it was clearly a rough ride. The floorboards are eaten by rust on both the driver and passenger sides. The truck has exposed brake and fuel lines running underfoot and ripped-up seats stuffed with cardboard for cushions.
Two workers were told to use the pickup truck last week to spread salt around Queens’ parks ahead of the snowstorm. The pair took one look at the rusty wreck and tried to beg off. But their supervisor, according to Benn, forced them to use the truck.
“A supervisor picked this vehicle up at another borough garage, drove it to Queens and gave it to workers in this condition and was not held accountable,” said Benn. “I don’t want my workers driving a death trap.”
A Parks Department spokesman said the truck — officially known as vehicle 5719Q — was taken out of service for repairs after Benn called with concerns.
“My workers were already out in the vehicle dropping salt, and I had to call back three times before the supervisor finally took it out of service,” said Benn.
The agency said vehicles are removed from the fleet on a case-by-case basis, depending on specific conditions. Drivers are required to inspect vehicles before using them and report any safety or mechanical issues, the spokesman said.
The agency’s fleet of 579 pickup trucks have two maintenance inspections annually in addition to a state motor vehicle inspection, he added. The average age of the fleet’s pickups is eight years, city officials said.
According to Benn, her members have had problems with poorly maintained Parks vehicles before.
In May 2012, veteran Parks worker Curly Robinson, 63, was nearly mowed down when an agency van he left idling popped its gear and rolled toward him. Robinson said he was thrown against another truck and then dragged several feet before the runaway van stopped.
“I had problems with that truck slipping gears all the time. It was never fixed, and it always was put back in service,” said Robinson, who was forced to retire for medical reasons after the accident.
The Parks spokesman confirmed that a van with the same identification number provided by Robinson was in an accident on that date and at that location but no other details were available.
Auto safety expert Byron Bloch reviewed the pictures of the rusted Ford truck and said it raised questions about Parks’ maintenance efforts.
“I would not go into that truck, it’s a definite hazard and should be taken off ff the h road,” d said id Bloch. l h “It’s actually an embarrassment and tells me there’s terrible maintenance of the vehicle.”
The extensive corrosion of the floorboards posed the biggest risk, he said. It indicated a weakened structure that would buckle easily on impact.
“That could turn a survivable crash into a fatality,” he noted.
Geoffrey Croft of NYC Parks Advocates said the poorly maintained vehicle was an accident waiting to happen.
It’s unconscionable that the city would put their own people and the public in such danger,” he said. “This is outrageous, and the people responsible must be held accountable.”