By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — The city says it's going to replace outdated boilers that burn polluting heating oil at public schools — but it's unclear exactly when the air-cleaning upgrades will happen.
The Department of Education announced Wednesday a 10-year environmental overhaul at schools that will replace light ballasts potentally laden with toxins known as PCBs and improve energy efficiency.
The eco-conscious makeover also calls for schools to phase out outdated boilers that burn No. 4 and No. 6 heating oil, fuels that create harmful black smoke linked to cancer, asthma and premature death.
That's good news on the Upper West Side, where Community Board 7 recently identified at least 14 public schools in District 3 — which runs from West 59th Street to West 122nd Street — that burn the polluting oil.
Community Board 7 member Elizabeth Starkey said she's glad to see the city putting the spotlight on dirty heating oil, which causes 50 percent more pollution than cars and trucks, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.
But Starkey said she wants more details on the timeline to fix the problem.
"They're highlighting the problem, but they're not really telling us when this work will be done," Starkey said. "At least we have something in writing that says they recognize the problem and they’re moving to correct it. But we need more information."
In a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about the school clean-up plan, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott was vague on the details of how the boiler phase-out will happen.
The city's first priority is to replace the aging light fixtures that potentially contain harmful PCBs, Walcott wrote, then continued, "In addition to prioritizing schools based on PCB (light fixtures), where possible, the plan will also prioritize schools based on the presence of boilers relying on No. 4 and No. 6 fuel oil."
Walcott then explains that in some cases, schools may be grouped by geography. The letter doesn't give any more details about timing for the boiler phase-out.
More than 280 schools use either No. 4 or No. 6 heating oil boilers, a DOE spokeswoman said.
"Replacing them will improve air quality by reducing emissions of air pollutants such as soot (fine particulate matter) and nitrogen oxide," said DOE spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz in an e-mail.
The city will start by issuing requests for proposals to energy service companies, which will then conduct energy audits of schools and make specific recommendations on how to improve energy efficiency, Ravitz said.
"Included in that, where necessary, would be replacement of these boilers," Ravitz said.
City Councilwoman Gale Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side, and Community Board 7 chair Mel Wymore both said they were glad to see the city tackling the dirty heating oil issue — and both said they look forward to learning more details.
The boiler upgrades aren't just about environmental benefits, Wymore said.
"This is smart decision-making on the financial front," Wymore said. "From an oil perspective, it pays for itself fast."
Advocates say switching to cleaner fuel such as natural gas is much cheaper than heating oil, especially now that the price of oil has spiked due to unrest in the Middle East. They argue that burning cleaner fuel would leave schools with more money to buy essentials like books.
