Lydia Diana of Hotel Trades Council on Highline Hotel worker exposure

Good afternoon.

I want to thank the council members this morning, as well as thank you, Chair Shulman, for a convenient oversight hearing on the city's response to this summer's Legionnaire outbreak.

My name is Lydia Diana, and I am an organizer with the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council Union.

I have spent over a decade committed to ensuring hardworking hotel workers are guaranteed the wages, safety, and dignity they deserve, as well as a voice, and that's why I'm here today.

I represent the workers at the Highline Hotel, a luxury property right in downtown Manhattan, operated by MCR.

Earlier this summer, the hotel building received a test showing higher than average rates of the Legionella bacteria cooling towers on the property.

Management did not notify the union or the workers and refused to provide evidence that they were following the law until after the union took them to arbitration.

However, even after taking the steps required by law, follow-up tests two weeks later showed that the Legionella density had increased fourfold.

Under New York City law, 10 colonial forming units per milliliter is considered acceptable.

An immediate action in reporting to the city is only required if the rates exceed 1,000 CFU.

Rates at the Highline Hotel after management first remediated it over 700.

Because it was below that red line threshold, the law only requires that the building either increase or change the chemicals in the system and to perform a visual inspection.

There was nothing else the city could do.

With the current response in place, workers and guests were left uninformed and vulnerable to the potential health crisis.

Management tried to keep business running as usual.

Workers with pre-existing respiratory conditions or weakened immune systems were threatened with retaliation when they expressed concerns over their safety.

May I continue?

Just summarize to the extent that you can.

It's critical to maintain strict standards.

We want to keep building a world's number one tourist destination in New York City.

So thankfully, no one got sick.

The lack of proper oversight and enforcement mechanisms to keep workers and guests informed and healthy were inadequate.

We have learned time and time again that the Legionnaire is not an issue to take lightly and delay in action.

Solutions, we suggest, like a hotline for workers to voice concerns without fear of retaliation, enforcement,

measures to hold non-compliant businesses accountable will significantly help keep workers and guests safe.

I implore this city to reform its protocols and make sure responsible parties are held accountable when health and safety standards are not adhered to.

The risk is too high not to.

I want to thank you.

Thank you.

And I also, you may know this, I worked with Megan on this too.

She had called me when that first happened.

It was over a weekend, so I was able to assist on that.

And I want to thank everyone here for your testimony.

It's really important.

And please tell Elizabeth I said hello.

Thank you.

Thank you, guys.

The next panel, and please, again, we have a lot of people that testify.

Please keep it to two minutes to the extent that you can.

We look at everything, I guarantee you, when you submit the testimony.

All right, next panel is Marco Tomeo.

Maria Freeman.

Wafa Al-Sadar, William Spitz, and

Kristen Ankuda?

Okay.

Is everybody here?

We're missing.

She's coming.

Sorry, just missing one.

Yeah, no, no, it's wherever.

So, which one?

Marco, that's you.

I'm just trying to figure out who I'm missing.

Maria, that's you.

Wafa?

Oh, that's who I'm missing.

Okay.

William Spitz, right.

And Kristen.

Okay.

So we're missing one person.

All right.

Okay.

Okay.

All right.

You start.