NYCHA has reported less than half of the elevated blood lead level cases in its buildings to the feds over the past 12 months.
The agency has said publicly that it had 40 such cases between last July and June, but it reported just 17 of them to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to the New York Post. A rule that took effect on July 13, 2017 requires NYCHA to report all instances of young children having elevated blood lead levels to HUD within five days.
NYCHA said the city’s Health Department does not notify them about every case because of privacy rules, and the 17 cases they reported were the cases where health officials conducting investigations noticed health hazards.
HUD spokesman Charles McNally told the Post that the agency is “reviewing whether additional cases should have been reported and will take immediate action to ensure compliance if such cases emerge.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced July 9 that the city would inspect 130,000 apartments in public housing for lead paint at an estimated cost of $80 million. The city also recently agreed to a $2.2 billion settlement with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office to settle claims that NYCHA purposefully covered up poor living conditions at its developments. [NYP] – Eddie Small