Meet NYCHA’s Asbestos Team Supervisors
Richard Kocurek, Mohammed Hossain, and Jose Seymour lead a small but vital team of asbestos inspectors and handlers who address about 90 percent of asbestos issues in NYCHA developments across the five boroughs.
The three supervisors have a combined 87 years of experience in the field of lead and asbestos abatement. Mr. Kocurek, an asbestos handler supervisor for major asbestos, has been working in the field for 35 years, 24 of them with NYCHA.
“When I first got in [the asbestos abatement business], I was making good money and I thought, let me make some money and then get out and try a different trade,” said Mr. Kocurek. “Thirty-five years on, I’m still here.”
Mr. Hossain, also an asbestos handler supervisor, celebrates his quarter-century anniversary with NYCHA this year. He spent his first 19 years working in the lead unit before joining the asbestos team, where he oversees minor asbestos abatement.
Mr. Seymour has been working on asbestos issues for 38 years. He joined NYCHA as an asbestos inspector. Seventeen years on, he has moved up the ranks and is now supervising the asbestos inspection unit.
Where necessary, the inspection team takes samples from apartments for lab testing before work can begin. Based on the test results, if the amount of asbestos found is less than 10 square feet, the abatement is carried out by Mr. Hossain’s team of 15 handlers. If the area involves more than 10 square feet, the abatement work is handled by Mr. Kocurek’s 7-member team.
Mr. Kocurek said that his team works as quickly as possible: “We deal with a lot of relocation of residents to do the abatement. Sometimes we are told that this apartment needs to be abated for asbestos tomorrow because the resident needs to move back into this apartment, or we need to get this done because we need to move a resident into this apartment.”
Despite their small numbers, the supervisors always ensure the work gets done.
“When the job is completed and everybody’s happy and everybody appreciates it, that’s what I’m really proud of,” said Mr. Hossain.
For Mr. Kocurek, who works directly with residents as well as with property managers, he finds fulfilment when his team “gets the work done for the residents and makes them and everyone happy.”
“Jose Seymour, Mohammed Hossain, and Richard Kocurek repeatedly go above and beyond to identify and address asbestos issues throughout the NYCHA portfolio, including residents’ apartments,” said Daniel Greene, Senior Vice President for Healthy Homes. “In the past year, they have overseen 6,158 inspections, 6,067 minor abatements, and 2,694 large abatements. Without their work, many basic NYCHA repair activities could not be accomplished, and they are, each day, ensuring a rigorous response to asbestos issues facing the agency.”
Manikandan Muthiah, Director of the Asbestos Department, also appreciates the work his supervisors do daily, saying, “All three men are very valuable to my team.”
The asbestos team’s achievements have been the result of collaborations among the supervisors and their teams. “We have a great staff that works together; everybody kicks in every single day if we need help in the field,” said Mr. Kocurek. “All our field staff are top notch. They know what they’re doing and they’re well trained. They’re all hard workers.”
