STATE OF NEW YORK
SUPREME COURT
COUNTY OF ONEIDA
__________________________________________________________________________
CHRISTOPHER SCOTT JOHNSON,
Plaintiff,
AFFIDAVIT
vs.
Index No.: CA2005-002584
ROME HOUSING AUTHORITY,
Defendant.
__________________________________________________________________________
STATE OF NEW YORK)
COUNTY OFCAYUGA) ss:
THOMAS NETZER, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
1.

I reside at 43 Jefferson Street, Auburn, New York.

2.

I am employed with James & Son Construction Co., Inc. (James & Son) as a mason.

3.

James & Son was awarded a contract for a brick rehabilitation project for the Rome

Housing Authority. Basically, the project was for brick rehabilitation at the Rome Housing
Authority.

The rehabilitation project involved the Colonial I, Colonial II and Valentine

Apartments, which are brick public housing buildings several stories high.
4.

In the Spring of 2003, I was assigned as a mason to perform work on the brick

rehabilitation project. I was the person in charge for James & Son in the absence of the James &
Son’s owner James Alibrandi. Mr. Alibrandi would come to the construction site one to two
times a week.
5.

Although the project started in 2003, it ended in the Fall of 2004.

6.

As masons, our job was to remove old cracked or damaged brick from the façade of the

building and install new brick in its place.
7.

In order to accomplish the removal of the brick, depending upon the amount of brick that

had to be removed, we would use a demolition saw equipped with a diamond abrasive

 blade/wheel to remove the mortar above and below the bricks that needed to be removed. The
demolition saw had a 14” diamond abrasive blade. The demolition saw was equipped with a hose
attachment for wet cutting. We did not wet cut on this brick rehabilitation project because the
representative of the Rome Housing Authority, Joe Nolan, specifically instructed us not to wet
cut because of concerns that it would make too much of a mess on the outside of the building(s)
and the area below. Mr. Nolan specifically said it would be too difficult to contain the water and
too big of an inconvenience to tenants for us to wet cut. As such, we used a demolition saw to
dry cut the mortar and brick with the abrasive wheel/blade.
8.

We also used handheld grinders with four or four and a half inch diamond abrasive cutting

wheels to remove mortar and masonry from the building. Like the demolition saw, the hand held
grinders turned the abrasive cutting wheel at high speeds necessary to cut through the masonry
and brick and created a very fine dust.
9.

Cutting the masonry and/or brick with a diamond abrasive demolition saw or the handheld

grinder/cutting wheel created large volumes of dust which would disburse into the area. The
handheld grinders were not equipped with any type of device to control dust by wetting.. The
handheld grinders were not equipped with any type of vacuum device so as to help eliminate and
control dust.
10.

The masons on this job that had to remove masonry or brick with the demolition saw or

handheld grinder, got covered from head to toe in a fine powdery dust created from the cutting
and grinding operations. The white dust from the cutting operation got into our ears, eyes, hair
and completely cover our clothing.
11.

In addition to brick removal, we were required to saw cut new expansion joints in each of

the buildings and to repair many of the pre-existing expansion joints. We employed a method
similar to brick removal in that a demolition saw with a diamond abrasive cutting blade would be
used to cut the expansion joints into the brick and mortar of the building. The expansion joints

 spanned the entire height of the building from ground to top. The repair of the expansion joints
required a similar operation in that we had to remove existing caulk and cut with a demolition
saw to clean out the expansion joints. When cutting with the expansion joints of the demolition
saw, we would similarly be covered by dust created from the dry cutting.
12.

At times, when we removed brick from around windows or doorways, structural steel

support called lintels were exposed. The lintels are best described as steel supports over the
windows and doors. These supports had to be cleaned and painted before installing any type of
brick or mortar on them. We cleaned the structural steel by chiseling excess mortar by hand. At
times, we ground it off with a diamond abrasive blade with a handheld grinder. At times, a wire
brush was used to clean or remove loose masonry. We then wiped the dusty surface down to
clean it before painting. Afterwards, we brushed the paint onto the steel, which had to be free of
dust and debris for the paint to properly adhere.
13.

At other times, structural steel was exposed by the removal of brick. When that happened,

we again removed excess dust, debris or mortar by means of manually scraping, chiseling or use
of an abrasive cutting wheel as well as cleaning off such steel with a wire brush or other means.
All of these operations similarly created a high level of dust into the area where we were
working.
14.

There were no means or methods to control airborne dust from any of the demolition

operations.
15.

James & Son had provided the tools and equipment necessary for the brick and mortar

removal.
16.

We were provided only with 3M type disposable cloth masks for respiratory protection. We

wore the masks anytime we were engaged in cutting and brick removal and cleaning operations.
We often went through several masks a day because of the large volume of dust on the project.
From time to time, we reused a previously used mask.

 17.

There was one other mask on the job site, which was a half-faced mask composed of

black colored rubber with two filters on it. One of the straps on that mask was broken but we
retied it and used the mask. There was only one of these black rubber masks on the job site.
18.

In addition to the work I described, we also had to clean excess mortar and brick off the

buildings with an acid wash solution.
19.

Mr. Alibrandi was not on the job site on a daily basis. I estimate he would come to the job

site approximately two times a week. He would often bring gas for the lift. He would also come
to the job site to deliver paychecks and check on the progress and performance of the work, as
well as to meet with Joe Nolan, the Rome Housing Authority’s on-site representative.
20.

On a daily basis, the Rome Housing Authority had an individual presence on the job. Joe

Nolan was the Rome Housing Authority’s representative. Mr. Nolan told us the method to
employ in the brick demolition and removal, especially that he did not want us wet cutting
because it would make too much of a mess.
21.

Nearly every morning before we started the work, we went over our daily plan with Mr.

Nolan and obtain his approval. Mr. Nolan coordinated the work. Mr. Nolan often instructed us
where to leave equipment and to set up equipment. Mr. Nolan’s office was located in the
Colonial II apartment complex and much of the work site was visible from his office.
22.

Mr. Nolan directed us to clean areas and on several occasions stopped work on the job

because of the excessive dust. He had us clean up the dust before any more work was done. Mr.
Nolan ordered us to cover air conditioning units as we worked in the area with plastic garbage
bags, which were supplied by the Rome Housing Authority. Mr. Nolan also directed us to clean
and mop almost on a daily basis the entrances due to dust that was being tracked in by the
tenants.
23.

On a few occasions, Mr. Nolan directed us to clean the tenants’ cars, which became

covered with the masonry dust.

 24.

Again, Mr. Nolan said yes or no every morning as to what work we had planned and our

schedule for the day.
25.

Aside from the mop and water for cleaning the entranceways, the Rome Housing Authority

provided an air compressor so that we were able to use compressed air to clean tools and
equipment on a daily basis. We used the compressed air from the compressors located in the
maintenance areas for each of the buildings, depending upon where we were working, to blow
the dust out of our tools so that they would properly work. This was done daily and often several
times a day so the tools would work properly. In addition, we used compressed air to blow the
dust off our body and clothing before lunch and before leaving during the day. The volume of
dust created by use of compressed air to blow it off of our bodies was considerable. Mr. Nolan
required us to dry sweep the area where we had cleaned the tools and our clothing, to remove the
dust from the building. Mr. Nolan was regularly involved in how the work was being performed.
He oversaw us several times a day and check on our progress. Mr. Nolan watched us saw cut and
grind bricks and mortar joints.
26.

On several occasions, the Rome Housing Authority representative, Mr. Nolan, directed us

to check the weather conditions from the job site instead of our homes, which were located a
distance away. While on the job, whenever it began to rain or mist, Mr. Nolan asked the workers
from James & Son to remain on site for at least a few hours to see if the rain would pass. Mr.
Nolan also inspected the types of protection in and around the buildings. For example, at one
point, he was unhappy with the protections provided over and around the entranceway and
required us to provide additional protection so that dust and/or debris would not enter the
buildings or any objects fall upon anyone entering the building.
27.

At one time during the brick removal process, Mr. Nolan instructed us not to remove a

large area of brick all at once for safety reasons but to remove it in smaller sections so as to

 protect the integrity of the building. I believe this was on the back side of the Colonial I
apartment complex.
28.

Chris Johnson was one of the masons employed by James & Son on the Rome Housing

Authority brick rehabilitation project. I do not believe Chris worked in 2003 but came on as a
mason in the Spring of 2004 and worked into September of 2004, just prior to the job’s
completion. When Chris joined the crew of masons, he did about 90% of the saw cutting and
grinding on the job. In fact, he was often so covered with dust, we nicknamed him “Dusty.”
29.

I give this affidavit freely and without any type of inducement offered to me.
__________________________________
Thomas Netzer

Sworn to before me this
day of May 2015.
_________________________
Notary Public