On Monday the New York State Department of Health announced that it was opening an investigation over the health impact of NYCHA’s failures to tenants in Southern Queens.
The Health Department will not only study the consequences of lead paint exposures but also health problems related to mold. Mold is affecting thousands of NYCHA apartments. It can cause asthma and other serious respiratory diseases. Additionally, the Health Department will also study the health impact of the recent heat and hot water outages. Since October, more than 320,000 NYCHA tenants (80%) have been experiencing heat or hot water outages. These outages are especially unhealthy for younger or older tenants.
While some elected officials believe that Chairwoman Shola Olatoye (who certified NYCHA was in compliance on lead paint inspections when she knew it wasn’t) should resign, Mayor de Blasio refuses to fire her. Further, in an interview on NY1, Mayor de Blasio suggested there was no need for a state probe.
"When it comes to health issues, the New York City Department of Health is the gold standard in this country,” de Blasio said. “We have the strongest public health capacity anywhere in the country. Always our partners in making sure that NYCHA residents are healthy. When we see a problem we address it and we're going to keep doing that."
NY Daily News Article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/health-department-study-impact-nycha-lead-paint-failures-article-1.3816403