Energy-Efficient Heating System Replaces NYCHA’s Oldest Boilers at Berry Houses 

Former boilers were maintained by veteran heating technicians for decades 

This past fall, a newly installed set of boilers started running for the first time at Berry Houses, just as NYCHA entered another heating season.  

It was the beginning of a new era for the Staten Island development, where NYCHA’s longest running boilers – one of the city’s oldest steam boiler plants – had been providing heating and hot water services for residents since the late 1950s. The three original oil-and-gas-fired boilers, manufactured by the now-defunct Fitzgibbons company, were replaced by a much smaller, modern set of gas-fired boilers using computer-controlled technology.  

The new boilers will improve the plant’s energy efficiency, leading to greater energy cost savings and a significant reduction in its annual carbon emissions. As part of a more than $31 million project in collaboration with the New York Power Authority, the development’s hot water system was de-coupled from the central plant boilers and new domestic hot water heaters were installed in each of the eight buildings. A new building management system now monitors the heat and hot water systems and will report any inefficiencies.  

“This is going to be beneficial across the board for everybody,” Heating Superintendent Mike Tirrell, who manages NYCHA boiler plants across Staten Island, said of the upgraded heating system at Berry Houses, home to more than 900 residents. “For the environment it’s a hit, and for the residents it’s going to be spot on.”  

A key improvement with the upgraded boiler plant, Mr. Tirrell noted, will be the reduction in energy and fuel consumption. Under the new system, boilers will automatically shut off when the outside temperature hits 55 degrees, while the boiler flames that produce heat will increase as building demand increases and decrease as demand decreases, he explained. Recalling the time the boilers began operating in October, Mr. Tirrell said it was their modern design and technology that first stood out.    

“When they fired them up, I was amazed,” commented Mr. Tirrell, who has worked at NYCHA since 2001. “I thought, ‘wow, technology came really far, and it’s showing.’” 

Just as noticeable was the new boilers’ change in sound and size from their towering predecessors, which rose roughly three stories high. But while the old Fitzgibbons boilers may have taken up more space and had dated machinery, they were considered a model of durability and consistency during their more than six decades of existence.  

Mr. Tirrell said the boilers “kept holding up” over the years, in large part due to the way they were constructed and attentive maintenance by Heating Plant Technicians Gary Dubner and the late Brian Dwyer, who both worked at the plant for more than 25 years.   

“The proper chemical treatment, the proper care, the proper intervals of servicing – everything coincided and worked harmoniously,” Mr. Tirrell said of the equipment’s endurance. 

Through his longtime service at the heating site, Mr. Dubner developed a particular connection and familiarity with the machines.  

“When my partner and I went in, we said good morning to the boilers,” quipped Mr. Dubner, a Staten Island resident who retired in November after more than 43 years at NYCHA. “We were there every day and they were like a part of us.”  

He became so in tune with the boilers that simple sounds could alert him to a specific issue with the equipment.  

“I could be outside the door of the boiler room and know what was going on in there; you could just hear it,” he described.  

As the only two heating technicians dedicated to managing the old Berry Houses boilers, Mr. Dubner and Mr. Dwyer took care of virtually all maintenance needs, from treating the boiler water with proper chemicals to regular testing and repairs – devotion and consistent upkeep which Mr. Dubner believes helped enable the machines to work efficiently for so long.  

“If a problem happens, you’re there to fix it,” he said.  

Mr. Tirrell commended Mr. Dubner’s dedicated service to the Berry Houses community, calling him “one of a kind.”  

“Gary’s knowledge is up there; he took pride in his work and his reputation showed,” the heating supervisor said. “Gary was always willing to help out anybody no matter what title, no matter what task.”  

Former heating technician Gary Dubner, who worked at the Berry Houses plant for over 25 years, retired shortly before the new gas-fired boilers started running.

Over their many years working together, Mr. Dubner and Mr. Dwyer not only shared their knowledge and expertise for how to adequately care for the boilers, but became trusted colleagues who “were like brothers.”    

“Brian was a good man, an ace, and a very nice guy,” Mr. Dubner remembered. “If we had a problem, we would call each other.”  

Mr. Tirrell also pointed to the special bond between the longstanding colleagues, noting it was like family.  

“It was like the right hand knew what the left was doing with the two of them,” he said. “You could stick them in any development on any boiler and they could resolve the situation.”  

A former car mechanic, Mr. Dubner said his commitment to ensuring quality heating services for the community had a lot to do with his passion for the job and working with machinery.  

“My partner and I liked to fix things,” he said. “It was interesting because every day you did something different.”  

While the efforts of the former veteran heating technicians helped to keep the aging boilers functioning for as long as they could, Mr. Dubner and Mr. Tirrell concur it was inevitable for the Berry plant to move on to a new phase. Aside from having a more compact size that will enable easier repairs, the equipment with modern design and technology can help secure a productive future for the plant.  

“It’s a comfortable feeling to know we have this system installed,” Mr. Tirrell said.  

Mr. Dubner added, “For technology, it’s a good thing. It was time for the old boilers to be changed, and it was time for me to go with them.”  

Featured photo caption: Gary Dubner (pictured) and the late Brian Dwyer regularly maintained NYCHA’s oldest boilers for over a quarter of a century, helping to keep the machines running efficiently until they were replaced by a modern system in October.