DPW

Environmentalists say they remain concerned for the Prettyboy Reservoir.

“When I passed out and hit the ground, I fell and hit the back of my head. Mr. Silver kind of shook me and woke me up off the ground. And when I asked him what happened, he said I collapsed,” said Travis Christian during a news conference.

Timothy Cartwell is the second DPW solid waste worker to die on the job this year.

DPW omitted 40% incidents that could be potential heat sickness in the most recent investigation.

An outside law firm found a lack of training and knowledge about heat safety. They also found a culture in which employees were afraid to speak up about safety concerns out of fears over retaliation.

Khalil Zaied will lead an agency that has been marred by several scandals that include water quality issues, poor service delivery and reports of a toxic work culture.

“If the rats have a food source, a water source, shelter, they're going to be around and no amount of bait we use will mitigate that.”

The city has announced that they have hired an independent firm to audit policies at the Department of Public Works, particularly heat safety practices.

Unions call for hearings into workplace conditions, additional health and safety training, as well as a full-time OIG investigator dedicated to DPW.

The pause and training are a direct result of Ronald Silver II’s death, a solid waste worker who died on Friday while reportedly showing signs of heat stress.