User:Writing205fk/Lead poisoning in Syracuse

Background
Lead is a potentially harmful metal with the ability to poison people, especially children, when ingested. In young children, lead can cause behavioral and learning problems that cannot be cured. There are a multitude of other sources of lead poisoning, however, the most prominent is often found in paint used in apartments and residential buildings built prior to 1978 (when the use of lead paint was banned). When the aforementioned paint is damaged, wet or scraped, the old paint turns into dust or chips on the floor and thus, opening the possibility for young children to ingest it. Houses in low-income areas due to their dated infrastructure are more likely to contain lead-based paint and have pipes, faucets, and plumbing fixtures containing lead. One of the highest rates of childhood lead poisoning in the country resides in Syracuse, New York. According to 2021 Onondaga County Health Department data, 10% of children in the city had elevated levels of lead in their blood. According to the CDC an elevated blood lead level of over 3.5 mcg/dl in children is considered high lead exposure. However, any level of lead present is considered dangerous. According to the Onondaga County Health Department, 11.2 percent of Syracuse children tested in 2022 were shown to have levels over 5 mcg/dl. Exposure to lead in children can cause damage to the brain and nervous system, slowed growth and development, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, hearing issues as well as speech and language deficiencies. (https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/prevention/default.htm) (https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/lead-based-paint.page) (https://www.leadsafecny.org/lead-in-cny.html)

Lead Poisoning Prevention Laws
"Owners will be required to:

Local Law 122 of 2023

Provide annual notice and investigation records whenever lead-based paint hazard or turnover violations are issued. The requirement becomes effective on September 1, 2024. More information on what annual notice and investigation records can be found by watching HPD’s webinar Lead-Based Paint Annual Notice and Recordkeeping: An Owner’s Guide to Compliance in NYC – YouTube or by registering for webinars are they are announced by HPD or by reviewing the Owner’s Annual Notice section below.. Provide XRF testing records, which an owner is required to have, whenever a lead-based paint hazard or turnover violation is issued beginning August 2025.

Local Law 111 of 2023

Conduct XRF testing of common areas by August 2025. Records of this testing must be maintained and submitted to HPD upon request. Note that owners are already obligated to have all apartments tested by August 2025. HPD recommends that owners apply for an Exemption for all apartments and common areas that test negative or for which the property owner abates all lead-based paint surfaces.

Local Law 123 of 2023

If a child under six resides in a unit with presumed lead-based paint in a multiple dwelling built prior to 1960 or a dwelling unit in a private dwelling erected prior to January 1, 1960 where each dwelling unit is to be occupied by persons other than the owner or the owner’s family, on January 1, 2025, the property owner must abate the lead-based paint on door and window friction surfaces, and remediate lead paint hazards, including making all floors smooth and cleanable, by July 2027 If a child under six comes to reside in a unit with presumed lead-based paint, after January 1, 2025, the property owner must abate the lead-based paint on door and window friction surfaces, and remediate lead paint hazards, including making all floors smooth and cleanable within three years of the date that the child comes to reside there."

(https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/lead/laws_and_regulations/index.htm) (https://www.nyc.gov/assets/hpd/downloads/pdfs/about/lead-rules-2020-adopted.pdf)

The Racial & Socio-Economic Injustices of Lead Poisoning
Syracuse is home to neighborhoods with some of the most concentrated poverty in the country. These neighborhoods are also where most of the city’s Black residents live. The neighborhoods adjacent to the I-81 overpass have poverty rates exceeding 40%. The city’s high-poverty areas also have some of the highest levels of childhood lead exposure. In Onondaga County there were 460 tested and confirmed cases of lead poisoning and of those 460, 183 of them were African Americans. Additionally, in 2020, nearly 12% of Black children tested in Syracuse had high blood lead levels compared to just 6% of white children. This can be attributed to the history of redlining and other racially discriminatory practices which grouped nearly 65% of Syracuse’s Black residents into impoverished neighborhoods. In these neighborhoods the housing is old and landlords face few consequences for violating housing codes perpetuating the issue of lead poisoning. When focusing on census tracts that report both high levels of poverty and poor housing conditions the lead poisoning epidemic appears evermore present. ​”Census tract 54 is located in the Brighton neighborhood of Syracuse’s Southside and includes the immediate area around the Beauchamp Library. Here, a striking 36 percent of residents live below the poverty line. In this neighborhood, more than 26.5 percent of children tested had elevated lead levels.” (https://harvardpublichealth.org/environmental-health/lead-poisoning-syracuse-crisis/) (https://rar.expressions.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Lane-2008-Environmental-Injustice.pdf) (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7084658/)

Local Activist Groups
There are a handful of Syracuse and other central New York residents who have gathered together to form groups in response to lead poisoning and other socio-economic injustices.

These groups include Families for Lead Freedom Now, The Lead Grant Program, Central New York Community Foundation, and 100 Black Men of Syracuse.

Attorney General Letita James heads a series of lawsuits against Syracuse Landlords
Since being elected in 2018, the current Attorney General of New York state, Letita "Tish" James, has taken legal action to protect the tenants of Syracuse, NY from "predatory landlords". (https://ag.ny.gov/about/meet-letitia-james). She has filed multiple lawsuits against landlords who have allowed tenants to live in dangerous, lead-filled properties, putting them and their children at great health risk. James also leads a coalition that focused on the EPA taking further action to protect children against the issue of lead poisoning, prolific in low-income areas as well as in communities of color. (https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2022/attorney-general-james-leads-coalition-urging-epa-strengthen-protections-against).

Lawsuit against Todd Hobbs
Todd L. Hobbs is a landlord and owner of the companies TLH Holdings, LLC and TLH Properties, LLC located in Syracuse, New York. He has been in business in Syracuse since 2014, managing at least 60 rental properties across the city. These properties are located in areas primarily inhabited by low-income communities of color, Hobb's most prominent clientele. Documentation states that all of Hobb's Syracuse properties were built before 1960. (https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2023/attorney-general-james-sues-syracuse-landlord-violating-lead-safety-laws-and).

On July 17th, 2023, Attorney General Letita James filed a lawsuits against Hobbs and his rental companies on the grounds that Hobbs has "repeatedly and persistently violated County, City, State, and federal laws by failing to maintain the Hobbs Properties in a lead-safe condition, allowing lead-based paint to deteriorate, and routinely violating local laws and federal regulations governing the way painting repairs are conducted, and lead hazards are communicated to tenants." (https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/court-filings/hobbs-lead-lawsuit.pdf). According to the lawsuit, Hobbs has acquired over 400 violations of lead safety laws in over a dozen rental units in Syracuse. At least 11 children have been diagnosed with lead poisoning while living in these properties. (https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2023/attorney-general-james-sues-syracuse-landlord-violating-lead-safety-laws-and).

On March 20th 2024, a settlement was reached between the two parties. Todd Hobbs is now required to pay 175,000 dollars which will go to a fund designed to support the families that have been impacted by the lead presence. The fund will also go towards fixing the properties owned by Hobbs and his company. The Syracuse Major, Ben Walsh, hopes that in addition to aiding those affected by Hobbs this will set a precedent for other landlords who have a similar set of violations. (https://www.fingerlakesdailynews.com/regional-state-congressional/syracuse-landlord-to-pay-175k-in-fines-for-lead-poisoning).

Other Lawsuits
Comparable lawsuits have been filed against multiple other landlords and rental companies for their failure to comply with lead safety laws and the health issues that their properties have caused. One was filed against John Kiggins and his company Endzone Properties Inc. which ended in a settlement of 215,000 dollars paid to the city. This will fund lead-prevention measures and aid affected families. (https://www.syracuse.com/health/2022/06/ny-attorney-general-shuts-down-syracuse-landlord-accused-of-exposing-kids-to-lead-poisoning.html). Another was filed against William D’Angelo, which ended in a deal with the landlord. D'Angelo will have to pay for cleanup and repairs at his current properties, and pass a lead safety inspection, before he is able to put them back on the market. He will also have to pay 80,000 dollars toward a "tenant relief fund".(https://www.syracuse.com/health/ 2024/02/syracuse-area-landlord-takes-an-unusual-deal-hell-fix-lead-paint-before-he-can-sell-homes.html).

Lead in Residential Buildings
In 1970, the state of New York banned the use of lead-based paint in residential housing. This law guaranteed that any new buildings would not contain this substance, but those already built at that point were left with lead covering the walls. In Syracuse, New York, this is the condition of around 90% of current housing. For residents of the city, this means a majority of them are living with a hazardous chemical covering the space that they use to eat, sleep, work, and play. (https://cabrinihealth.org/lead-poisoning-in-syracuse/).

The Effect on Tenants
Landlords and rental companies in Syracuse have consistently failed to comply with lead safety standards, putting their tenants at extreme risk. There have been issues with failure to notify tenants of the existence of lead in their home, lack of or improper renovation and repair, putting unfair fault and responsibility on the tenants, and blatant disregard of the issue as a whole. These individuals and companies have taken to paying legal fines in place of taking action to address the problem, putting their tenants directly in harm’s way.(https://www.syracuse.com/health/2023/10/syracuse-housing-authority-failed-to-notify-tenants-of-lead-paint-hazard-epa-says.html).