Report Cites Presence Of Toxic Lead Paint

Over the last two years, 1,000 formerly homeless families were placed in dangerous apartments with lead-paint hazards, according to a report issued earlier this month by the Manhattan-based Coalition for the Homeless.

Lead-paint violation notices were issued to approximately 900 buildings inhabited by families in the city's Housing Stability Plus program, which replaced Section 8 vouchers two years ago as the city's principal tool for housing homeless families. Other violations-including vermin infestations, lack of heat and hot water, and collapsed ceilings and floors-were also cited as violations in these homes.

State Sen. Bill Perkins, D-Harlem,, who sponsored the city's current lead-paint law when he was a city council member, has demanded immediate action by the city and state to improve the oversight and administration of the Housing Stability Plus program.

"This is not a minor matter. Children are being poisoned for life and they would be better off in the shelters," he said. "I'm sure if these children came from silk-stocking districts, there would be a bigger response from the mayor."

According to the coalition's report, the owners of the buildings received 3,200 violation notices, many detailing multiple violations in more than one apartment. One of every five families in the Housing Stability Plus program was placed in an apartment with five or more hazardous violations per apartment. Of the apartments surveyed in Manhattan, almost one third failed to meet standards proposed in city council legislation.

The Department of Homeless Services, which is in charge of selecting apartments for families in the Housing Stability Plus program, declined to comment.

Perkins also issued a letter to the governor and submitted new state legislation with measures to ensure that children are only transferred to housing that is lead-safe. Currently, the Department of Homeless Services does not test units for lead paint before families are moved into them.

"How horrible can you be to give the most vulnerable the worst standards?" Perkins said. "This is clear arrogance of power and arrogance toward these children."

The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Law of 2004 does not require the city to inspect for lead. It does require landlords to maintain inspection records on lead paint and arrange for its removal.

Leon Tulton, of West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc., says part of the problem is a lack of awareness on the part of both landlords and tenants.

"Not many landlords follow the rules for preventing hazards," Tulton said. "But often it is because they are unaware of the problem, and the tenants themselves are unaware of the environmental hazards in their homes."

He also notes that homeless populations, in particular, are often preoccupied with getting out of shelters rather than considering how the "substandard" housing they are entering could be affecting their health. The most common hazards the group sees are lead poisoning, mold, dangerous pesticides, and carbon-monoxide poisoning.

The group has responded with a new campaign to raise awareness about lead poisoning, launched in collaboration with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and New York City Department of Housing, Preservation, and Development. Targeting both tenants and property owners, the campaign aims to raise awareness among landlords and tenants and teach proper methods of removing hazards.