A new interactive map is helping tenants check for lead poisoning risks in their buildings. According to a news report, the Lead Dust Free NYC coalition and the Cooper Square Committee, along with BetaNYC, have launched a new digital map that helps tenants to quickly check if their homes may be at risk for lead exposure.
How Tenants Can Use the Tool
Tenants can enter an address and find out if that building is likely to have lead paint based on its age. This information was previously challenging for most renters to access. Before this tool became available, tenants had to look up the year their building was constructed and then cross-reference data about lead use to gauge their potential risk.
In spite of stricter regulations after the passage of Local Law 1 of 2004, lead exposure remains a serious public health problem. In 2023, 5,078 children under the age of 6 in New York City were still suffering from lead poisoning, according to the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Many are exposed to lead through chipping paint or unsafe construction, which releases lead dust. While adults also suffer the health effects of lead exposure, children are extremely vulnerable. If you find that your building likely has lead paint, you can contact the Cooper Square Committee or local tenants’ rights group for guidance at LDFNYC@coopersquare.org.
What Are the Responsibilities of Property Owners/Managers in New York City?
In New York City, property owners/managers of older residential buildings (typically those built before 1960, and sometimes 1960-1978 if lead paint is known) face multiple lead-paint obligations to protect tenants and children under the age of 6. Property owners/managers must presume paint is lead‐based unless testing proves otherwise, and must inspect units — and, as of August 2025, common areas — using EPA-certified inspectors with X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis.
Whenever paint is peeling, chipping, or otherwise deteriorated (especially on friction or chewable surfaces) in units where young children reside, owners/managers must promptly remediate the hazard using certified contractors and safe work practices. During tenant turnover, property owners/managers must remediate all lead paint hazards before re-leasing the unit, and ensure floors, window sills, and related surfaces are cleanable and safe.
They must also provide tenants with annual notices, lease disclosure forms, and the EPA pamphlet on lead paint. Finally, they must keep records of all inspections, notifications, tests, repairs and repair work for at least 10 years, and make them available to municipal agencies on demand. Failure to comply can result in penalties.
Lead paint is extremely dangerous for young children because their bodies absorb lead more easily than adults. When children inhale or ingest lead dust or paint chips, lead can damage their developing brains and nervous systems. Even small amounts can cause learning disabilities, attention problems, reduced IQ, behavioral issues and developmental delays. High levels of exposure can lead to anemia, kidney damage, seizures or even death. Because lead poisoning often shows no immediate symptoms, many cases go unnoticed until serious harm occurs.
New York Lead Poisoning Lawyer
Whether you have been living as a tenant at a private apartment complex or in a public housing unit (the Projects), please remember that you have legal rights. If your child has been diagnosed with high blood lead levels, regardless of whether you live in public or private housing, you can file a personal injury lawsuit against the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) (the Projects) or private building owners and building managers for damages. Those who have been affected can seek compensation for damages including medical expenses, cost of diagnostic tests, permanent injuries, lost income and benefits, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc. If you or your child have been injured, it is in your best interest in such cases to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer before contacting your own insurance company.
If your child has been affected by lead poisoning, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Our firm recovered $1,162,500 for a child who suffered lead poisoning from paint in her apartment. The child’s injuries were subtle and difficult to recognize. We recovered $162,500 above the $1 million dollar total insurance policy in this case. Despite the judge’s efforts to settle the case for $950,000, we fought hard and recovered $162,500 more than the insurance policy of one million dollars. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys‘ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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Source: https://evgrieve.com/2025/10/new-interactive-map-helps-tenants-check.html