MTA East New York bus depot fire systems violate state, FDNY rules

An MTA bus depot in Brooklyn has been without functioning sprinklers, alarm panels, or other fire protection for more than a year, the Daily News has learned.

The East New York Bus Depot — home to about 250 buses as well as maintenance, repair and tire shops, and MTA offices — has racked up numerous fire equipment and safety violations from the FDNY and the state Department of Labor.

"It's kind of scary knowing there's no fire protection in the building," one long-time employee at the facility told The News. "Fueling goes on in there, maintenance goes on in there — God forbid there's a fire."

East New York bus depot in Brooklyn. (Clayton Guse/New York Daily News)

"You’ve got a lot of volatile chemicals," said another employee, noting that large quantities of gasoline and diesel fuel are stored on the site. "You’ve got welding going on — hot work. The building is in need of proper protection."

The FDNY's Bureau of Fire Prevention lists the Jamaica Ave. depot as "in violation" following its most recent safety inspection in January.

Violations issued that month, obtained by The News, cite the facility for a broken sprinkler system and a lack of approval for changes to the fire alarm system.

Transit employees at the facility say the sprinklers have been out for over a year, following multiple burst pipes in the system.

Pete Donohue, a spokesman for TWU Local 100 which represents a portion of the transit workers at the depot, said the facility's fire sprinkler system has been offline for 18 months.

A bus pulls into the East New York bus depot. (Clayton Guse / New York Daily News)

John Chiarello, safety director for the local, said the union was committed to the safety of its members on site.

"Our Safety Team has been on top of this situation from day one and we are doing everything to make sure our members are safe," he said.

"That includes working with the Fire Department to ensure that the MTA meets all safety requirements for such situations, no matter the cost, including maintaining a fully staffed fire watch on every shift," Chiarello said. "This entails transit workers, certified and trained in fire safety, walking and inspecting the facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

The round-the-clock fire patrols Chiarello mentioned are required by fire code whenever the sprinkler system is inoperable.

But an FDNY violation from January cites the facility for "Fail[ing] to provide and/or maintain sufficient personnel holding a certificate of fitness as a fire guard."

The department gave the MTA 30 days to repair the sprinkler system, get proper approval for the alarms and maintain a trained fire watch. FDNY records showed last week that all three violations remain "active."

The East New York bus depot. (Clayton Guse/New York Daily )

In addition to the FDNY violations, the state Department of Labor cited the MTA earlier this month for "repeat" and "serious" violations at the depot involving repeated failures with the fire alarm system.

"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 state Labor Department report, obtained by The News, lists two earlier violations issued for the same problem — one in March 2022 and one in May 2020.

"‘Troubled’ employee alarm panels have been an ongoing problem at the facility," says a Labor Department inspection report from September 2022. "Complaints, with photographic evidence, were received regularly alleging ‘trouble’ indications for different alarm panels at different locations within that worksite."

The report said additional complaints received by the department in October 2022 and February of this year purported to show broken alarm panels across the depot, including in the third-floor Bus Command Center, a locker room, a truck shop, and a storage room.

The complaints also raised the issue of the broken sprinkler system, which were referred to the Fire Department, according to the Labor Department report.

The Labor Department gave the MTA a June 14 deadline for repairs.

MTA spokeswoman Joanna Flores acknowledged the issue, and said the MTA was working to fix it.

"The sprinkler system in an area of the East New York bus depot is undergoing extensive necessary repairs due to aging infrastructure," she said. "While this critical work is underway, NYC Transit has had certified staff performing fire watch and will continue to sustain certified staffing until repairs are complete."

The agency expects repairs to be completed by June, she said.

The MTA did not address the Labor Department's fire panel allegations.

The fire system problems are not the first time the MTA has been in hot water over a delayed response to aging systems at the East New York depot.

In 2020, the MTA's inspector general said the agency waited too long to address concerns over asbestos in the facility's ventilation system — sitting on the information for two months in 2019.

An independent consultant found the asbestos posed no threat to depot workers, and the material was ultimately sealed off in a remediation effort.

Employees at the site told The News that attempts to repair the pipes feeding the fire sprinkler system have been ongoing — but have all failed.

One employee estimated that the sprinkler system had failed some six pressure tests in the past year, including two in the past two weeks.

The employee described the repairs as "trying to put a patch on a patch on a patch."