RCC mold hearing delayed as county plans probe

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RCC mold hearing delayed as county plans probe

Lower Hudson Journal news - West on,NY*

By Ben Rubin • The Journal News • June 25, 2008

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A legislative hearing on mold concerns inside Rockland Community

College's Brucker Hall was postponed at the last minute yesterday

after a county attorney announced he was heading a new investigation

into the problem.

The decision angered RCC employees who came to the County

Legislature's Multi-Services Committee meeting to speak out on

health issues at Brucker, RCC's 171-year-old administrative building.

Several people have complained of falling ill from mold and

unidentified toxins there, leading to several workers' compensation

claims and the relocation of eight employees from the building.

" This isn't fair, " RCC employee Pereira-Jersey said as she

burst into tears outside the Legislature chambers.

" I'm angry. I'm upset. I feel like they betrayed me. I feel they

should've listened to me, " said Pereira-Jersey, one of about 10 RCC

employees at the meeting.

Plunkett, a White Plains attorney, was hired Monday by the

county Insurance Department to start an investigation into liability

and health issues at Brucker.

At the start of the committee meeting, Plunkett asked the hearing be

adjourned until his full report is available, arguing that any

public comment on the matter could affect the investigation.

Committee Chairman Philip Soskin, D-Monsey, said he had learned of

Plunkett's pending investigation 10 minutes before the meeting, and

agreed to postpone the hearing. He publicly apologized to those in

the audience who came to speak about the issue.

" I feel very badly for the people, " he said. " We've got to do what

our attorneys tell us to do to protect the county. "

Legislator ph Meyers, D-Airmont, who called for the hearing,

argued that the county became nervous about an article published

Sunday in The Journal News on the issue and decided to hold off

discussing the matter publicly.

Nine workers' compensation claims were filed against RCC involving

mold and unidentified toxin exposure at Brucker since 2007.

Gluckmann, a former employee who claimed she was exposed to

mold there, said she won a portion of her workers' compensation

claim this month, receiving $22,000 from the college. The case is

continuing.

" I'll keep fighting until that building is closed, " Gluckmann said

yesterday outside the County Legislature offices.

Gluckmann, who worked as the college's international programs

coordinator from 2003 to 2007, said all the money she won will go to

pay off debt she incurred from missing full-time employment for

about a year due to sickness.

An entire suite for six people, including two vice presidents, was

moved last month after workers there complained of feeling nauseous

and ill.

After many environmental tests, administrators at the college in

Ramapo said they didn't know what was causing the illness in the

second-floor suite but continued to look into the situation.

Both Gluckmann and Pereira-Jersey were diagnosed with health

problems caused by mold exposure, including short-term memory loss,

breathing problems and fatigue.

Environmental experts found mold in Pereira-Jersey's office, but not

in Gluckmann's former office.

Last week, a judge established Pereira-Jersey's workers'

compensation claim, making her eligible for compensation, she said.

She was moved to the college's Fieldhouse in May after complaining

of a moldy odor in her office.

In 2000, the college found mold in a basement stairwell in Brucker.

In that case, one employee was moved from the building and two

others complained of feeling sick.

After remediation and several tests, RCC officials reported a few

months later that mold was back down to normal levels.

Reach Ben Rubin at bfrubin@... or 845-578-2420.