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80,000 City Workers Report Back to Their Desks This Week
By
Beth Fertig
Published May 4, 2021
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Beth Fertig / WNYC
By
Beth Fertig
Published May 4, 2021
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For Cheryl Guilford-Jackson, Monday marked the return of an old routine.
“I got up in the morning, got myself ready, this time I made lunch,” she said, laughing.
For the first time in 14 months, Guilford-Jackson commuted from her home in Long Island to her desk at the Manhattan Municipal Building across the street from City Hall. She was among roughly 80,000 city employees who’d been working from home since the start of the pandemic but are now returning to their offices this week, in what Mayor Bill de Blasio believes will send a powerful message about the city’s recovery.
“We are public servants, we are here to help people get through this crisis and help the city recover,” he told WNYC’s Brian Lehrer on Friday. But he also noted the greater potential impact. The Partnership for New York City said only about 10% of Manhattan’s one million office workers were back as of March 2021.
A Department of Citywide Administrative Services reception desk at the Municipal Building
Department of Citywide Administrative Services
“I do think others in the private sector will see it as an important indicator that there will be more activity around those buildings,” he explained. “It will help small businesses, undoubtedly, I think it will help bring back jobs and save jobs but the reason to do it is the quality of the work.”
The city required numerous safety precautions including mask-wearing. Vaccinations are not required, but the city is strongly encouraging them.
Guilford-Jackson, who works at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) donned a face shield and flat shoes — no heels — in case she was stranded by the subway and had to walk. She was a little nervous but said everyone was kept at least six feet apart.
“The occupancy on the floor is not full, it's like maybe 20, 25, give or take, coming in,” she said. “I mean, they are doing all the precautions to make sure we are safe.”
Nearly 220,000 other city workers were already back at their offices at least part of the time. With the remaining 26% reporting to duty starting Monday, for a couple of days a week, this means no city worker will be allowed to telework 100% of the time, though accommodations are possible based on medical and other factors.
Listen to Beth Fertig's report on NPR:
Some city workers said it’s unfair to make them go back earlier than the private sector. Jessica Bristow, an architect with the Department of Design and Construction’s office in Queens, said she worries about her health in the office and on mass transit.
“I'm going to be commuting on the subway to sit at a cubicle with a mask on all day to make video calls all day and then commute home,” she said before a press conference on Saturday with a couple of dozen other opponents of the policy. “It just doesn't make sense. And it's a risk to everyone.”
Henry Garrido, executive director of District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal employees union, issued a statement saying progress had been made but “we’re not there yet.”
Workers protesting the return to work outside the Municipal Building, May 1, 2021
Beth Fertig / WNYC
But de Blasio said citywide COVID-19 test positivity levels were just above 3% on average and that hospital admissions were “plummeting.” He also said more than half of all city workers had received at least one vaccination.
The city spent over $200 million since last year to ensure safety precautions are followed for the return. A Mayoral Restart Taskforce worked with all 65 mayoral offices and agencies involved, making occupancy calculations for each office based on physical distancing and HVAC-related factors.
Quintin Haynes, executive deputy commissioner of the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, said about 1,000 of his employees are coming back in staggered shifts to the Manhattan Municipal Building this week.
“So it could be one day, it could be two days, or it could be some type of flexible schedule,” he said.
A reception desk at the Municipal Building
Department of Citywide Administrative Services
He said Plexiglas has been installed for public-facing workers and that markers are posted throughout the building to ensure social distancing in hallways, elevators and bathrooms. City employees will have daily health screenings, and Haynes said DCAS will have weekly COVID-19 tests and vaccinations on site for anyone who wants them. But employees are not allowed to ask each other about their vaccination status.
Marina Sukonnik, an attorney who works for DCAS, said she was initially nervous because she'd only come into the city once from Westchester in the past year. She even walked to work from Grand Central because she was worried about riding the subways. But she was relieved by the safety precautions.
“It's clean, they separated us, we don't sit next to each other, not too many people are in the office,” she said, while ducking out for a break. “So there are a lot of precautions, you have to fill out a health survey before you come in.”
Another DCAS employee, Robyn Liverpool, was only coming in about twice a month until now. She got her nails painted yellow and dressed up for the occasion with open toe shoes. “It was like the first day of school for me,” she said, adding that it felt good seeing more people in person again.
**“**My old supervisor sits next to me. And there was another young lady I haven’t seen,” she said. “So it was good to see them, good to catch up, you know, ask them how’s their family. Some people have lost people unfortunately, some people haven’t.”
Department of Finance employee John Adler said his office felt like a “time capsule,” because nothing had changed since March of 2020. He dressed casually for the return but did wear real shoes. “I haven’t worn shoes for the last 14 months, I’ve only worn sneakers and sandals,” he said.
The full return to offices by municipal employees was greeted with enthusiasm in Chinatown, which is near the civic center. Its businesses have been suffering since the start of the pandemic and from continued anti-Asian hate crimes. Chi Vui Ngo, who owns New York Bo Ky restaurant, was hoping he’d have a busy lunch hour. But it was still quiet Monday, with just a couple of customers eating inside and plastic curtains surrounding the tables.
Wellington Chen (left), executive director of the Chinatown BID/Partnership with Chi Vui Ngo at his Bo Ky restaurant, where he’s hoping to get more customers
Beth Fertig / WNYC
“We should give it a little more time to come in,” he said, optimistically, noting this was just the first day back for the 80,000 workers. He thought city workers needed to get used to being back at work first before heading to his restaurant.
Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City, said sending more city employees to offices “is important to local small businesses in Lower Manhattan, downtown Brooklyn, and other locations where city agencies are concentrated.”
But she said the decision “will probably not accelerate return of private office workers, who are looking to see high rates of [vaccination] before that feel safe on crowded streets and subways.”
Beth Fertig is a senior reporter covering the city’s recovery efforts at WNYC. You can follow her on Twitter at @bethfertig.
Tagged
vaccination
pandemic
reopening
mayor de blasio
Beth Fertig
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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