A Problem That Cannot Be Covered Up
Lead Paint Remediation in Brooklyn’s Oldest Public Housing Development
You may have lead paint in your apartment. The city will fix it. But here’s the catch: They probably won’t do it until you move out.
This is the fate of many residents of the Red Hook Houses, among the oldest and largest public housing developments in the city and home to some of the greatest numbers of lead paint contamination in the city, according to data released earlier this year by New York City Housing Authority.
The red brick towers were built just before the Second World War to house the workers of what was then a busy section of city’s waterfront. Today, though the demographics of the development have changed, there is still a connection between the past and present for residents of the houses; lead paint used during initial construction remains in an unknown number of apartments and building spaces.
More than one hundred units tested positive for lead paint contamination between 2013 and 2015, according to data released by NYCHA, the highest rate for any NYCHA development in the city.
If the idea of widespread lead contamination seems like a problem that should have been solved long ago, that may be because lead paint poisoning is one of the country’s oldest environmental causes. The negative health effects of lead paint ingestion, especially among young children, were recognized by the end of the 19th century, but lead-based paint remained in use for decades. Extensive campaigning by paint companies ensured that when the first sections of Red Hook East opened in 1939, the so-called future of urban, working class living was constructed using lead paint. New York City eventually banned the use lead paint in 1960, which was followed statewide ban 1970, end eventually by a Federal ban in 1978.
Unfortunately, the sheer number of buildings with lead paint across the city means that these housing laws have always been reactive in nature. While there is the presumption that all buildings in New York before 1970 contain some levels of lead paint, removal often occurs only during building renovations or after years of deterioration exposed previously covered layers of aging paint chips and dust. NYCHA housing did not use lead paint as extensively as private developments, but it was applied to areas such as radiators, doorframes, and pipes.
Children with lead poisoning often exhibited varying degrees of developmental delays and learning disabilities. Today, blood tests are mandatory for children at age 1, and again at age 2; city guidelines state that a Blood Lead Level (BLL) of 10 micrograms per deciliter is the threshold for investigating a child’s living conditions for possible lead contamination. Children with lead poisoning often exhibit varying degrees of developmental delays and learning disabilities. A BLL as low as 2 micrograms per deciliter has been linked to ADHD, but as the BLL increases, children can suffer from neurological impairment, behavioral disorders, decreased academic performance, and anemia.
In NYCHA housing, positive tests for lead paint triggers immediate abatement of the entire unit, which can be an extensive process. The timeline for abatement depends on the size of the apartment and level of lead paint contamination. Each room is emptied and sealed off to prevent dust from escaping into vents and baseboards. All paint is then stripped and disposed of. While the paint is removed room-by-room, the entire apartment is always vacated during the removal process.
In 2004, the city enacted Local Law 1, which focused on the presumption of possible contamination in houses where young children were living. Under the law, Housing Authority officials responsible for NYCHA units are required to check for lead paint contamination whenever inspecting a unit where young children are living. Since 2004, the number of children under the age of three who’s mandatory blood tests revealed elevated lead levels has dropped up to 80 percent. But thousands more remain at risk as the presence of unabated housing remains.
This is especially true of NYCHA residents, says Russ Haven, a staff attorney with the NYPIRG, a non-partisan advocacy group for New York residents.
“Lead paint is responsible for the overwhelming number of children with elevated blood levels — affecting primarily lower income and non-white kids,” he said. While the New York City Health Department estimates that fewer than 0.3 percent of 300,000 children tested positive for elevated blood lead levels in 2014, the problem of enforcement, especially within a system as large as NYCHA, remains.
In 2016, NYCHA estimates that of its 178,000 units city wide, an estimated 55,000 likely still contain some levels of lead paint. More than 10,000 of those units are home to children under the age of 6. In the Red Hook Houses, with roughly 2,800 units home to 6,500 residents, 116 apartments have been abated for lead paint contamination between 2013 and 2015. That number is the highest among NYCHA developments in Brooklyn.
The overwhelming number of abatements occurs only when a family has left the apartment. NYCHA does conduct annual inspections of units, but unless there are young children or visible paint chips present this rarely involves testing for lead paint contamination. The most thorough inspections, including mandatory testing for the presence of lead paint, occur prior to a new tenant moving in.
Even in this case, the detection of lead paint in one unit does not lead to further testing of surrounding apartments — abatement in NYCHA units remains a case-by-case process.
This leaves many NYCHA residents, including those in Red Hook, in a compromising situation. Rental rates in NYCHA units are set at approximately 30 percent of monthly income, and in 2016 the median rent for NYCHA residents was $483 per month. Just a few blocks away from the Houses, near the rapidly gentrifying Van Brunt Street, two-bedroom apartments are renting for $2,700. This disparity in rental rates means that NYCHA units are rarely vacated, and thus rarely receive the lead paint abatement that would come with a renovation in between tenants.
The result is that many residents of the Red Hook Houses may live for years without knowing if their apartments still contain lead paint. Earlier this year, proposals were made for massive development in Red Hook, including the construction of much needed low-income housing. This would be the latest development in an area that is already changing at a rapid pace. The neighborhood may be evolving, but the residents of Red Hook’s largest housing development may be dealing with an old problem for the foreseeable future.
While it is still almost impossible to pinpoint which specific units in the Red Hook Houses still contain lead paint contamination, the issue will continue to affect residents and especially young children. Those children, says Mr. Haven, “Are more likely to perform poorly in school, act out, and ultimately end up in the criminal justice system.” And, while the housing laws may be reactive, residents themselves can be proactive by vigilantly checking for signs of lead paint contamination.
