CCSF Facilities 

1/19/24, Ocean Campus Student Health
No heat today! 

1/19/24, Downtown Campus
Unsurprisingly, faculty report an increasing mold smell in the Downtown Campus.

There are only four air purifiers to serve 22 classrooms, plus meeting rooms, offices, computer labs, and the library. Downtown Campus windows do not open. Faculty have requested more air purifiers, but so far have received nothing at all.

1/9/24, Downtown Campus
Faculty report that the 8th floor of the Downtown Campus is closed because of mold damage after December's dramatic indoor rain. 

12/20/23 Ocean Campus, 700 Bungalows
HR offices in the 700 Bungalow are closed for the break one day earlier than previously planned. HR employees report that the reason is that there is no heat and nearby construction is making life difficult. While we are glad administration showed respect for these workers, we have to note that it was only a one-day reprieve -- while long-standing conditions for workers and students in the Arts buildings have yet to be addressed.

12/18/23, Downtown Campus
Rain was pouring down today -- inside, on the 8th floor of the Downtown Campus. If anyone has photos or video, please send them to me (mfinkels@aft2121.org) for posting here!

12/1/23 Ocean Campus, Visual Arts
Visual Arts faculty report 55-59° in classrooms this week. In spite of statements made in the 11/28 Board presentation and 11/1 campus-wide email, there are no "temporary heating solutions". 

11/30/23 Ocean Campus, Cloud Hall
Students and faculty in Cloud Hall, especially on the third floor, have been reporting a gas smell for at least a week. Buildings and Grounds said everything was fine but didn't give more information. A concerned employee finally called PG&E, who came out on 11/30 and determined:
-- the smell outside of the building is sewer gas

-- the smell inside the building is fumes from the diesel generator

That's great in the sense that it means the building isn't going to explode. But diesel fumes are a serious health hazard. So far, the District has not responded to email about this situation.

11/28/23 Board of Trustees

The facilities update is almost word-for-word identical to the 11/1/23 campus email. A few minor changes, including that the completion date for the Wellness Center boiler replacement is now December. Apparently there hasn't been a whole lot of progress this month.

11/1/23 Campus-wide email includes a mixed bag

The good news:
-- Mission, JAD, and Rosenberg boilers are operational!
-- Ocean Campus Wellness Center boiler replacement "scheduled for completion in November 2023."

The bad news:
-- Ocean Campus Arts Buildings: Replacement pipes "should be completed and operational by Spring 2024". For now, "building engineers and architects are working on temporary solutions that include small generators and space heaters". Actual humans who work in those buildings, meanwhile, report temperatures regularly down to 60°.
-- Ocean Campus Science Building & Statler/Smith Hall: Heating systems are in design. No timeline provided.
-- Rosenberg: HVAC system is "nonoperational". Facilities is planning a replacement, but no timeline provided.

And the weird:
-- Cloud Hall: The email says "Repairs have been made which now allow heat to be provided in the building." In the real world, however, Cloud Hall classrooms have been overheated all semester, some of them to the point of being completely unusable. Many classes have been re-located to other rooms and other buildings.

10/?/23, Ocean Campus, Rosenberg Library
The wheelchair-accessible entrance on the first floor of the Rosenberg Library has been fixed! Thank you to everyone who spoke up.

9/19/23, Ocean Campus, Rosenberg Library
We just learned that the wheelchair-accessible entrance on the first floor of the Rosenberg Library is broken -- and has been broken since at least February, despite multiple reports to facilities. This door and the Rosenberg elevator was one of the few wheelchair-accessible routes from the lower part of campus up the hill to the circle. On top of the that, Rosenberg houses the main DSPS office for the college.

9/15/23, Mission
According to the agenda for the 9/28/23 BOT meeting, the Mission Campus boiler work has been completed! Kudos everyone who worked on this and pushed to make it happen. 

9/12/23, Mission
Last March, because of activism and media attention around terrible conditions at Mission, the trustees held an emergency meeting at the Mission Campus. (See 3/14/23.) This was a huge success, and it's the reason we're getting a new boiler. 

Also in that meeting, VC Alberto Vasquez said that new custodians had been hired and at least one of them would be assigned to Mission, and David Martin committed to hiring more maintenance staff. 

Yet there are currently only two custodians assigned to Mission, one for day and one for evening. 

8/30/23
The VC had previously said that the high pressure pipe replacement in the Arts Buildings was unsuccessful (see 8/1/23). Yet in response to an inquiry from art building faculty, HR passes on a note from Facilities saying they're replacing the high pressure pipe. Here's the quote from HR's email.

"From AVC Alberto Vasquez:
[Facilities is] in the processing of bidding the replacement of the High Pressure Steam line from Cloud Hall to Creative Arts which will be due at the end of September. The project will replace a damaged and leaking steam line.  Once completed we will be able to deliver the high pressure steam to the Creative Arts and Visual Arts. Once the project is bid and contractor on board, we will have more information regarding schedule of the pipe replacement."

8/28/23, Ocean Campus Arts Buildings
At an administrative facilities meeting, chairs and at least one dean present a proposal that would bring in a contractor to set up a generator and pipe heat into the Arts building. As far as we know administration has not responded to that proposal. 

8/25/23
Press coverage from Mission Local: City College prepares for ‘winter of suffering’ awaiting heat fixes

8/25/23
All-college email informs us of a new system for submitting work orders, called "BIM-Genie". It says that we now need approval from a chair and a dean before any work order can be processed. To be fair, it might mean a chair or a dean, it's not clear. A quick glance at BIM-Genie shows it to be simpler than Schooldude, with no login required. You can access it from the Buildings and Grounds website.

The email also instructs: "Do not bring in personal electronics and/or appliances as this impacts our electrical capacity for our district work spaces. If there any existing personal appliances please remove them from the work space." Which means if your department hasn't provided a heater, air purifier, or other equipment you need, you're just supposed to suffer.

8/14/23, John Adams
The JAD dean wrote to JAD faculty in her welcome message: "The boiler has been ordered and will be lifted onto the Ashbury side of the main building. The projected completion date is Oct. 12th. " 

8/11/23, Mission
In spite of what HR told us, the real update comes from the campus deans in their welcome messages. The dean at the Mission Campus wrote to Mission campus faculty: "The boilers have been replaced, and the project is expected to be completed by the end of August or mid-September. " 

8/9/23, John Adams, Mission, and Ocean Campus Wellness Center
HR reported to AFT 2121 that they “were told” the work has been completed. While this is less definite than we would like, it’s still good news. If they're close now, they should be done before winter sets in.

8/1/23, Ocean Campus Arts, Science, and Statler Buildings
Vice-Chancellor Geisce Ly sends email to chairs and deans including the following:

"Heating projects for Science Hall, Creative Arts, Creative Arts Extension, Visual Arts and Smith Hall/Statler buildings.  An initial concept for replacement of the underground piping from the Cloud Hall boiler room (high pressure system) to Science Hall and the Arts Buildings was unsuccessful. Over the last several months the college has contacted companies and walked the site with expert technicians/engineers, no proposal for contracting work was provided. We are currently working with our design team to develop a schedule to design an independent localized heating system for each of the buildings. This will provide each building (Science, Smith/Slater, Creative Arts, Visual Arts, and Arts Extension) with their own new standalone heating systems.  These are major construction projects and will require architectural designs and full bidding processes, which will not be completed this Fall semester.

The Office of Instruction is committed to working with faculty and department chairs to relocate to a more suitable classroom if there are heating concerns this fall. Faculty and department chairs are encouraged to notify their academic dean to discuss potential classroom options."

Our take-away: Nothing has changed. The administration will do nothing different from last winter to help workers and students in those buildings. 

7/20/23, John Adams
According to the dean, the elevators have now passed inspection and are usable again!

7/15/23, John Adams
JAD workers received notice from the dean that the elevators did not pass inspection and are currently "off line". There are two more weeks to go of summer session.

6/22/23
Chancellor David Martin includes a facilities update in his report to the board of trustees. He says crews are on track to complete repairs to the heating systems at Mission, JAD, and the Ocean Wellness Center. However, the Ocean Science and Arts buildings steam systems cannot be repaired and a more complicated fix or replacement will be needed. He does not say anything about planning to actually make that happen.

5/22/23
The District informs AFT they are working on the boilers. Email states: "We are under contract for John Adams Center, Mission Center and Wellness building. For all three project they are procuring the material and will be installing in the summer. Project are scheduled to be completed in August. More details will occur when they start construction."

4/14/23, Ocean Campus Science Hall
The blockage was removed and the doors can be pushed open from the inside in an emergency. This work was done on 4/14, although the District didn't bother to inform AFT of this or even acknowledge our inquiry until 4/24.

4/4/23, Ocean Campus Batmale Hall
AFT receives a report from a chair who sits on multiple committees that there is "no plan for upgrading" the Batmale Hall ventilation system at this time.

4/3/23, Mission Campus
Faculty return from spring break and find that some of the "Fix the Heat" temperature logs posted on classroom doors have been removed. These logs have helped draw press and board of trustees attention, and serve to help faculty communicate with each other and document problems. They were approved for posting on 2/27/23.

3/16/23, Ocean Campus Science and Smith Hall
The door in Smith Hall that was bolted shut is now wide open. The debris has been removed from in front of the door in Science. It can be opened from the inside, although faculty report that it takes some force and pushing. Longer-term, both doors will need to be replaced. This is a huge improvement for everyone's safety, and great example of collaboration between faculty and classified. 

3/16/23, Ocean Campus Student Health
Faculty report the heat is back on in the Student Health Center! Rumor has it that the crew had been waiting five months for the necessary part.

3/15/23, SF Gate
More press coverage! SF Gate: SF community college without heat: 'It's hard to function' 

3/14/23, Emergency Board of Trustees Meeting
• Trustees approved bids for boiler replacement at Mission, JAD, and the Ocean Campus Wellness Center, and a new electrical transformer at the Ocean Campus Student Health. Alan Wong was clear that the work will not be completed until summer 2023.
• David Martin committed to move classes to warmer rooms where that is possible. First he said he was already doing it, but then under pressure from trustees he said he would begin to compile a list of available rooms.
• Alberto Vasquez reported that five new custodians have begun work this week, one at Mission and four at Ocean. He said that the District is in process to hire four more.
• David Martin committed to hiring more maintenance staff next year.
• Trustees demanded that David Martin keep them and the community informed.

All of this is positive movement, and the tone was refreshingly direct. Trustees expressed appropriate concern and even anger. But they also acknowledged that it doesn’t provide relief for most of us working right now. 

3/9/23, Board of Trustees Facilities Committee
Administration states that they will not fix the heat in Conlon Hall or the EOPS Counseling office because the building is slated for demolition. They say that EOPS counselors will be relocated to Rosenberg, but decline to give a timeline for that move.

3/9/23, San Francisco News
More press coverage! The San Francisco News: Students and Staff Raise Concerns About Cold Classrooms

3/8/23, Mission Local & NBC News
NBC Bay Area: City College of San Francisco Students, Faculty Dealing With Cold Classrooms
Mission Local: City College students spend year without heat, jump from ‘one icebox to another’
Congrats to Mission Campus faculty who helped spread the word! These stories were sparked by the paper logs we posted on our classroom doors.

3/1/23, John Adams, DSPS classroom
52.3° in the classroom.
Instructor reports "Students are complaining that the chairs are too cold to sit on."

2/21/23, Ocean Campus, CA, VA, and ArtsX: "Update" from the chancellor
Chancellor David Martin told AFT 2121 President Mary Bravewoman that the underground steam pipes heating the Creative Arts, Visual Arts, and Arts Extension buildings began leaking "a few weeks back and needed to be shut down for safety." He said the District does not have a timeline for a repair: "...we don’t have a firm estimate at this time as contractors are still scheduling site walks so they may consider offering a bid for the work." 

However, faculty who work in CA and VA report that there has been no heat there since before COVID. Scroll down in this blog to see a photos of unheated VA classrooms taken November 8th and November 10th.

2/20/23, The Guardsman
Check out this article in The Guardsman: City College Struggles with Inadequate Heating, Leaving Faculty and Students in the Cold

2/9/23, Rosenberg Library
88.9° at the circulation and reference desks. They actually had to close the entire Rosenberg Library at 4pm because it was too hot. All while people were freezing in VA right next door.

2/1/23, "Update" from the chancellor
Chancellor David Martin told AFT 2121 leadership that the Rosenberg ceiling should be repaired in the next few weeks. He acknowledged the lack of heat in other buildings, and gave some information about what is broken. He did not give any solid timelines for getting the heat back on. More details here.

1/13/23, John Adams, Mission, Ocean Campus Visual Arts, & Ocean Campus EOPS Bungalow
With the new semester starting, there is still no working heat. Rumor has it the District is taking bids for replacement boilers at JAD, and that it could take a few months -- just in time for warmer spring weather. David Martin said on flex day that Visual Arts should have heat by the beginning of Fall semester 2023, but there was no word about relief for the people who are using the building now. We have not heard of any plans to fix anything at Mission or in the EOPS bungalow.

1/11/23, Ocean Campus, EOPS Bungalow
Some work on the electrical system was done, so more space heaters can now be plugged in without blowing fuses. There is no other heat. The mold smell has not gone away, and multiple employees report headaches and respiratory issues.

1/10/23, Rosenberg Library
Water has leaked into the work area behind the circulation desk. The whole area is soggy and unusable, and smells like mold. 

1/9/23, Ocean Campus, DSPS Office & Rosenberg Library
The heat is on! Thanks to everyone for your hard work and advocacy.

12/14/22, Rosenberg Library
51° in the library.

12/13/22, Ocean Campus DSPS Office, Rosenberg
Space heaters blow the fuses; power was out all morning to part of the office. 

12/12/22, Rosenberg Library
49° at the library reference desk.

12/9/22, The SF Standard
Check out the SF Standard article: SF Teachers Wear Triple Shirts in ‘Freezing’ College Classrooms

11/28/22, Batmale
Faculty report working heat in Batmale! The 5th floor has been a consistent 69°. Kudos to all who worked on this, especially faculty in the English department. 

11/10/22, Batmale 530
54° in faculty offices

11/10/22, Batmale
Chair of the English department informs faculty that the college has accepted a bid from contractor M Corp to fix the boiler. No timeline yet.

11/10/22, Chancellor's message
Chancellor David Martin sends email to the whole college community acknowledging that "many of our campus spaces right now need immediate attention as the current temperature in those spaces is not as conducive to working, learning, or supporting our students." He says the facilities team is looking into repairs and funding for repairs. For immediate situations, he has two suggestions:
-- Get space heaters by talking to your building rep and reporting the need to schooldude. He doesn't acknowledge that space heaters mean blown fuses in some buildings.
-- Talk to your chair and dean about moving to a different room. 

He does not say what will happen if neither of those options works.

11/7/22, EOPS Bungalow
EOPS counselors are assigned to work in-person in the Ocean Campus EOPS Bungalow, which is full of mold. Counselors report they have experienced health problems for years, including headaches, itchy eyes, and respiratory problems. An October OSHA report found no violation. OSHA told us they did not test for mold spores, only for water damage. 

10/26/22, Batmale 520
Outside temperature: 59°. Inside temperature: Colder