by Kirsten Danis
The United Nations isn't moving fast enough to fix dangerous conditions in its aging buildings, a mayoral aide complained Tuesday as City Hall kept up the pressure on the international body.
Marjorie Tiven, head of the city's Commission for the United Nations, urged the UN in a letter to speed up the installation of smoke detectors and the sealing off of the East Side buildings from one another.
"Our interest is in letting them stay here, be happy here - but they have to have a safe building," Bloomberg said Tuesday.
Tiven, who is also Mayor Bloomberg's sister, repeated his threat made in an Oct. 30 letter to ban schoolchildren from taking tours of the UN if crucial safety measures aren't quickly put in place.
"The city must do everything necessary to create a safe environment, of which the UN is certainly a vital part," Tiven wrote.
A UN spokeswoman said the organization agreed to the city's deadlines and "is moving ahead as expeditiously as possible."
An FDNY inspection in January turned up 866 code violations, and the city believes only 20% have been fixed.
The upgrades are not part of the massive $2 billion renovation the UN is scheduled to undergo.
 |