Stewart Stogel
Tuesday, March 6, 2007

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UNITED NATIONS -- Despite growing concerns by both U.N. staff and diplomats on the deteriorating health and safety conditions inside the New York City headquarters, U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Monday denied New York City health authorities access to its 40-acre campus.

"We are not subject to inspections and this can only be done on a voluntary basis," so explained U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe in an e-mail to NewsMax.

The world famous headquarters, sitting between 42-48th Streets in mid-town Manhattan, houses more than 10,000 workers, many of whom eat in the complex's five restaurants.

Two of those restaurants are also open to tourists and the general public.

Since 2003, those restaurants have been operated by Aramark Corp.

The facilities have shown repeated infestations of mice and rats. They also operate with equipment found to be either broken or in a state of disrepair.

U.N. building maintenance workers claim they often find rodent droppings inside equipment used to prepare food.

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The issue of health conditions have gained new attention in New York City since a Greenwich Village KFC restaurant was recently found infested with rats.

The rapidly worsening conditions have also been the subject of repeated official complaints by the U.N.'s Staff Union which represents more than 9,000 workers at the organization's headquarters.

On July 27, 2006 the Union issued a resolution entitled: "Deterioration of Food Quality and Services of the Catering Facilities at Headquarters."

Within the resolution the Union contends that it is "Concerned that the overall quality and service provided by Aramark, which has been in steady decline, has reached unacceptable levels."

It also "Expresses dismay that despite constant efforts to prevail on the caterer to improve the quality of food and pay more attention to cleanliness, hygiene, and pest control, and despite repeated complaints by individuals, no remedial improvements have been noticed."

The U.N. management has ignored the Staff Union's concerns.

While the U.N. claims it conducts "weekly" health inspections on its own, it remains silent about the repeated internal complaints on the rodent infestation.

"We got no response, no action," complained union Vice President Emad Hassanin.

"They [the UN] are responsible to nobody," he added.

"I have a mouse trap under my desk," confessed a long-time U.N. staffer who has become exasperated by the world organization's repeated intransigence.

Not only are the workers becoming disgusted with the situation, a group of veteran ambassadors are threatening their own ad-hoc inspections if the U.N. does not relent.

The posh Delegates Dining Room, that often plays host to well-known VIPs, is one of the U.N.'s facilities that has come under attack by the legions of rodents.

Only hours before Virgin CEO Richard Branson attended a dinner banquet in his honor, mice were seen beating the world famous entrepreneur to the kitchen's delicacies.

Ironically, that same dining room was recently "approved" by the well-known Zagat's dining guide.

Under a so-called Capital Master Plan, the United Nations intends a massive renovation of its headquarters beginning in 2008.

The projected cost of the 10-year project is estimated at $1.8 billion.

© NewsMax 2007. All rights reserved.

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